LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


©I  FT    OF 


Class 


Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 


FIRST    BAPTIST   CHURCH 

MARY   CARR    MERRITT 

MISSIONARY 


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Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 


Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 


A  Brief   Biography 


Compiled  by 

MARY  CARR  MERRITT 


fieCeach  us  the  lesson  of  his  life 
The  secret  of  his  power, ' ' 


J.  F,  El  well  Publishing  Company 
247  S.  Broadway.  Los  Angeles 


Copyright   1909 

by 
JXCary  Can  JKCtrritt 


"So  the  Mother  and  Father 
who  ha\>e  been  the  inspiration  and  jo^ 

of  his  life 
is  this  book  dedicated. 

Mary  Carr  Merritt. 


193429 


"His  purity  of  thought  and  feeling  dis- 
played the  nobility  of  his  nature.  No  coarse 
expression  marred  his  spoken  or  written 
word. 

"For  all  that  was  noble  and  tender  and 
sweet  he  had  a  strong  affection.  He  was 
one  of  those  who  desired  to  be  pure  in 
heart." 

Sunday  School  Times. 


Pref 


rerace 


Standing  on  a  hill  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  we 
watched  the  sun  as  it  crept  slowly  up  the  Blue  Ridge 
mountains. 

Here  we  could  detect  dim  shapes  and  there  watch  the 
deepening  shadows  till  almost  before  we  were  aware  of  it  day 
was  upon  us  and  the  sun  was  sending  its  influence  of  cheer 
and  comfort  over  all. 

Such  was  the  life  of  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel.  Growing  up 
in  the  retirement  of  his  Virginia  home  and  so  modestly 
taking  his  college  honors  we  hardly  knew  that  a  man 
of  worth  was  among  us  until  we  felt  the  silent  power  over 
our  lives. 

That  we  might  gather  together  some  of  the  treasures  of 
this  life  and  share  them  with  others  is  the  purpose  of  this 
book. 

All  of  those  who  have  contributed  have  done  so  out  of 
a  love  that  is  "pure,  precious  and  permanent." 

It  is  our  wish  that  in  these  chapters  he  may  again  speak 
to  us  and  that  through  the  inner  vision  we  may  look  into 
those  eyes,  those  soulful  eyes,  that  told  us  of  a  desire  to  learn 
from  the  "peerless  Teacher"  and  to  serve  mankind. 

MARY  CARR  MERRITT. 
Oct.  22,  1909. 


Contents 

Page 
I .     B  oy  hood 1 1 

II.  College  Days 17 

III.  University  of  Chicago 29 

IV.  Potomac,  Va 35 

V.  Washington,  D.  C 39 

VI.  Albuquerque,  N.  M 43 

VII.  Extracts  from  Letters  65 

VIII.  Memorial  Services 73 

IX.  Sermons  ...  87 


I 

BOYHOOD 


Give  us  the  faith  that  made  him  strong, 

Aggressive,  bold  and  true ; 
The  zeal  that  ever  prompted  him 

The  Master's  will  to  do; 
The  love  that  sought  the  fallen  ones 

To  lead  them  to  the  cross ; 
The  joy  of  knowing  Thee,  which  makes 

All  other  gains  but  loss. 


OF  THE 

|  UNIVERSITY 

* 


I 

BOYHOOD 

By  Miss  Susie  McNiel,  a  Cousin. 

Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel  was  born  near  Rocky  Mount, 
Franklin  County,  Va.,  Oct.  22,  1873.  His  father,  Thomas  J. 
McNiel,  came  from  the  hardy  Scotch-Irish  stock,  and  per- 
haps the  perfectly  balanced  mind,  the  clear  intellect  and 
powers  of  perseverance  that  were  dominant  traits  of  the 
son,  may  be  regarded  as  gifts  from  his  fine  Scotch  ancestry. 
His  mother  was  Miss  Hudson,  from  a  good  old  English  fam- 
ily. Her  life  has  been  given  to  her  children  with  a  love 
and  devotion  rarely  equaled  and  never  excelled,  and  her 
sweetness  of  disposition,  generosity,  and  other  virtues  were 
strong  forces  in  moulding  the  character  of  her  son.  The 
earliest  years  of  young  McNiel's  life  were  spent  in  happiest 
freedom  on  his  father's  farm.  Long  days  filled  with  play 
and  sunshine  were  his.  Trudging  in  good-natured  content 
after  the  men  at  work  in  the  fields,  rambling  on  the  green 
hill-sides,  fishing  and  playing  in  the  little  river  or  helping 
his  mother  about  the  house  were  his  usual  occupations  as 
a  little  lad.  Being  of  a  merry  and  fun-loving  disposition 
he  was  always  willing  and  eager  to  join  in  the  many  pranks 
of  his  young  comrades,  and  in  his  later  years  he  often  spoke 
with  tender  remembrance  of  the  humorous  incidents  of  these 
days. 

At  the  age  of  five  his  education  began  in  a  little  country 
school  house  and  even  at  this  early  date  he  evinced  signs 
of  an  unusually  strong  intellect.  As  he  grew  older  he 
became  very  fond  of  study  and  his  evening  duties  were 
promptly  done  that  he  might  devote  the  later  hours  to  his 
lessons. 

So  conscientiously  did  he  spend  his  time  that  at  the  age 
of  fifteen  he  had  mastered  the  studies  of  the  little  school  and 
taught  it  himself. 


14  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

At  thirteen  he  had  commenced  teaching  in  the  Sunday 
School  held  in  an  old  building  used  as  a  place  of  worship 
by  a  band  of  Baptists. 

When  in  the  early  days  the  people  met  there  to  listen 
to  the  earnest  message  of  their  pastor,  Rev.  Samuel  Mason, 
it  seemed  as  if  the  very  windows  of  heaven  were  opened 
and  showers  of  blessings  poured  upon  them.  So  earnestly 
did  the  pastor  tell  the  gospel  story  in  all  its  sweetness  and 
simplicity  and  so  conscientiously  did  his  little  flock  aid 
him  that  a  great  revival  of  religion  was  their  reward. 

Among  the  many  who  professed  faith  in  Christ  and 
were  baptized  was  young  McNiel,  then  only  fifteen.  Turning 
his  face  into  the  light  of  God  he  firmly  resisted  temptation ; 
and,  his  young  soul  thrilling  with  the  hope  and  enthusiasm 
of  youth,  looked  into  the  years  of  the  dim  future  and  saw, 
perhaps,  the  many  things  he  was  to  do  for  his  Redeemer. 

He  resolved  to  give  his  life  to  the  Master  and  daily 
studied  the  Bible  for  divine  truth.  Going  out  into  the  quiet 
shade  of  the  trees  where  he  could  be  face  to  face  with  God, 
he  sought  and  found  through  prayer  and  careful  study  that 
most  blessed  wisdom  and  inspiration  of  all  the  ages. 

The  beauty  and  uprightness  of  his  Christian  character 
soon  became  evident  in  his  influence  upon  his  associates.  He 
continued  teaching  in  the  Sunday  School  and  spent  much 
time  in  the  study  of  the  lesson  and  preparation  of  notes  for 
illustrations.  For  the  next  two  years  we  find  him  living 
this  truly  beautiful  life,  in  summer  working  with  his  father 
on  the  farm  and  in  winter  going  to  school.  Ever  present 
was  the  ambition  to  serve  the  Master  in  a  worthier  and  more 
perfect  manner. 

In  the  autumn  of  1890,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he 
entered  Glade  Spring  Academy  at  Glade  Spring,  Va.,  to  take 
a  preparatory  course  for  Richmond  College.  He  was  in  this 
school  for  two  years  and  won  the  marked  approval  of  the 
teachers  by  his  diligence  in  study,  manly  bearing  and  purity 
of  life.  When  this  course  was  completed  he  turned  to 
Richmond  where  he  was  to  distinguish  himself  as  a  student 


Boyhood  1 5 

and  orator.     How  eagerly  he  looked  forward  to  the  life 
before  him,  in  all  its  phases! 

As  we  look  over  even  this  part  of  his  life  we  are  led  to 
exclaim,  "Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift." 


II 

COLLEGE  DAYS 


God's  boundless  Love  and  arching  sky 
Above  us  when  we  wake  or  sleep, 
Above  us  when  we  smile  or  weep, 

Above  us  when  we  live  or  die. 

God's  endless  Love !     What  will  it  be 
When  earthly  shadows  flee  away, 
For  all  Eternity's  bright  day, 

The  unfolding  of  that  Love  to  see ! 

Maltbie  D.  Babcock. 


II 

COLLEGE  DAYS 

By  Rev.  W.  L.  Richardson. 

Mr.  McNiel  was  born  at  a  time  when  there  was  a  grow- 
ing recognition  of  the  importance  of  an  education.  The 
many  improvements  and  general  progress  of  the  age  created 
many  problems,  the  solution  of  which  requires  the  best 
trained  minds.  The  natural  desire  for  knowledge  has  stim- 
ulated the  minds  of  men  to  an  effort  unrivaled,  perhaps,  since 
the  days  of  the  Italian  Renaissance. 

Living  in  an  age  when  the  intellectual  demands  are  so 
great  and  having  decided  to  enter  the  gospel  ministry, 
Mr.  McNiel  was  not  content  with  any  thing  less  than  the 
best  preparation.  To  him  it  was  folly  to  enter  the  arena 
of  life  not  having  on  the  whole  armor  of  a  well  trained 
mind. 

As  Moses  spent  eighty  years,  or  two-thirds  of  his  life, 
in  preparation  for  the  forty  years'  service,  so  it  can  be 
said  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch — by  far  the  greater  part 
of  his  life  was  spent  in  equipping  himself  to  lead  his  fellow- 
men  from  the  bondage  of  sin  to  the  soul's  freedom.  Again, 
as  Moses  departed  this  life  just  at  the  time  when,  humanly 
speaking,  he  was  about  to  receive  his  reward,  so  Mr.  McNiel 
was  taken  a  little  before  the  close  of  his  search  after 
knowledge,  and  was  about  ready  to  enjoy  his  most  coveted 
earthly  reward — the  dedication  of  himself  and  all  his  ac- 
complishments to  the  service  of  God  and  humanity.  As 
at  the  time  when  the  Israelites  were  about  to  begin  their 
numerous  and  hard  fought  battles  it  seemed  that  the  pres- 
ence of  Moses  was  essential  to  their  success,  so  in  this 
day  when  the  conflicts  with  intellectual  and  spiritual  dark- 
ness are  being  fought  with  the  greatest  severity,  to  all  that 
knew  Mr.  McNiel  it  seemed  most  unfortunate  to  lose  his 
counsel  and  leadership.  But  in  both  cases  a  God  of  wisdom 
willed  it  so. 


20  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

Being  born  in  Franklin  County,  Va.,  near  the  county 
seat,  Rocky  Mount,  he  attended  the  public  schools.  Here  it 
was  said  of  him,  "he  learned  fast."  He  enjoyed  the  full 
measure  of  this  honor.  He  would  either  stand  at  the  head 
of  his  class  or  greatly  annoy  the  one  who  did.  He  partici- 
pated freely  in  the  debating  (not  literary)  society  of  the 
neighborhood  when  the  members  had  under  discussion 
questions  of  such  ponderous  weight  as :  Resolved,  ''That 
fire  is  more  destructive  to  property  than  water,"  or  "That 
a  gun  is  of  more  importance  to  man  than  a  dog."  Though 
in  eloquence  he  may  not  have  equaled  Cicero  when  expos- 
ing the  conspiracy  of  Cataline  to  the  Roman  senate,  yet  in 
earnestness  he  might  well  be  considered  his  rival. 

He  graduated  from  Glade  Spring  Academy  in  1892. 
During  these  years  there  grew  upon  him  daily  the  im- 
pression that  God  had  called  him  to  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry. It  was  the  one  duty  of  his  life.  The  natural  man 
argued,  the  spiritual  man  triumphed.  The  selfish  proposi- 
tions were  ordered  to  the  rear,  the  unselfish  made  to  lead. 
That  unselfishness  was  one  of  his  characteristics  until  the 
day  of  his  death. 

Later  in  life  he  heard  a  powerful  discourse  on  unsel- 
fishness delivered  by  a  visiting  minister  in  the  Grace  Street 
Baptist  Church,  Richmond,  Va.,  from  the  text :  "Except 
a  grain  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth 
alone;  but  if  it  die  it  beareth  much  fruit."  (John  12:24.) 
On  returning  to  his  room  he  said  to  his  companion :  "The 
thought  of  that  text  and  sermon  is  the  key  to  the  most 
useful  life ;  that  answered  all  my  objections  to  entering  the 
ministry.  If  a  man  accomplishes  much  in  this  life  for  truth 
and  humanity,  he  must  die  to  self  interest." 

This  high  ideal  began  to  be  his  goal  even  in  his  academic 
days,  and  was  God's  own  appointed  way  to  turn  him  into 
the  channel  of  service  for  which  he  was  so  eminently  fitted. 

Having  once  for  all  time  yielded  he  felt  even  a  greater 
need  of  cultivation  of  mind  and  he  would  not  excuse  himself 
with  any  thing  less  than  the  best  the  land  could  afford. 

Accordingly  in  September,  1893,  he  entered  Richmond 


College  Days  21 

College,  Richmond,  Va.  He  had  the  good  fortune  of  being 
well  prepared  to  take  up  the  college  work  and  pursue  the 
same  with  no  severe  tax  upon  his  mind.  Possibly  he  could 
have  entered  some  of  the  classes  of  the  second  year's  course, 
but  he  highly  valued  the  importance  of  doing  foundation 
work  well.  He  believed  that  in  order  that  intellectual 
houses  might  stand  they  must  be  "founded  upon  a  rock." 
This  rock  was  sought  by  digging  deep  for  Greek  roots  and 
mastering  the  fundamentals  of  other  languages  and  sciences 
whose  fields  of  wealth  he  attempted  to  make  his  own.  In 
this  ground  work  he  was  very  painstaking. 

He  had  in  his  favor  the  best  of  instructors.  Among 
them  were  Prof.  H.  H.  Harris,  who  was  acknowledged 
one  of  the  leading  Greek  scholars  of  the  South,  and  who 
spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  as  Professor  in  the  Southern 
Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  Louisville,  Ky. ;  Prof. 
Edmund  Harrison,  that  master  of  the  Latin  language,  now 
President  of  Bethel  Female  College,  Hopkinsville,  Ky. ;  the 
learned  Dr.  S.  C.  Mitchell ;  Prof.  F.  W.  Boatwright,  Presi- 
dent of  Richmond  College,  and  many  others  of  exceptional 
ability. 

As  a  student  he  was  above  the  average ;  he  was  one  of 
the  best — best  in  applying  himself  and  best  in  attaining 
results. 

As  the  thirsty  traveler  of  the  desert  longs  for  the  foun- 
tain of  water  with  which  to  refresh  his  languishing  soul 
so  had  Mr.  McNiel  yearned  for  this  fountain  of  knowledge. 

He  did  his  best  in  the  hours  set  apart  by  himself  for 
study  and  the  physical  exercises  were  entered  into  with  the 
most  jubilant  spirits.  When  he  returned  to  his  room  he 
seemed  to  forget  everything  but  the  book  before  him. 

To  the  other  members  of  his  class  he  rendered  frequent 
and  valuable  aid.  His  quick  and  retentive  mind  enabled 
him  to  master  his  subject  in  less  time  than  others ;  and  when 
this  was  done  he  cheerfully  and  freely  shared  with  his 
fellow  students  the  fruits  of  his  own  labors.  It  was  almost 
a  daily  occurrence  to  see  one  or  more  wending  their  way 
to  his  room  asking  his  assistance.  He  took  delight,  not  in 


22  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

his  superiority  over  his  fellow  students  but  in  every  oppor- 
tunity of  rendering  assistance.  The  idea  of  helping  was 
most  pleasing  to  him. 

With  a  mind  naturally  bright  and  time  well  spent,  the 
day  of  his  reward  was  not  far  away.  Soon  the  time  came 
when  the  President  of  the  college  in  his  annual  distribution 
of  diplomas  began  to  deliver  some  to  Mr.  McNiel.  At  the 
close  of  the  session  of  1897-1898  he  had  received  enough 
to  entitle  him  to  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  This  in 
turn  was  used  as  a  stepping  stone  to  the  highest  academic 
honor  of  the  college,  the  Master  of  Arts  degree,  which  he 
won  the  next  year,  1899. 

This  accomplishment  would  have  satisfied  many,  but  not 
so  with  Mr.  McNiel.  His  desire  for  the  best  training  led 
him  at  once  to  begin  preparation  for  a  course  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago,  which  he  took  after  a  year's  pastorate  in 
Gordonsville,  Va.,  his  physician  having  advised  him  to 
take  at  least  this  much  rest.  But  his  worth  was  too  well 
known  to  allow  him  much  rest.  As  soon  as  it  was  known 
that  he  was  going  to  Gordonsville  an  effort  was  at  once 
made  to  induce  him  to  accept  in  addition  to  his  pastoral 
work  the  principalship  of  the  Piedmont  Academy.  The 
pressure  was  so  great  that  he  finally  yielded.  Though 
he  had  this  unusual  amount  of  work  to  do  he  made  a  won- 
derful reputation  as  an  instructor.  He  was  greatly  blessed 
in  his  church  work  and  endeared  himself  not  only  to  the 
members  of  his  church  and  pupils  of  the  school  but  to  all 
classes  of  people  and  the  ministers  of  the  town.  Here  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Annie  Stanard  Goodloe,  the  highly 
accomplished  daughter  of  Mr.  Spotswood  Goodloe,  Gor- 
donsville. She  was  a  graduate  of  the  Woman's  College, 
Richmond,  Va.  Directly  after  their  marriage  they  went 
to  the  University  of  Chicago,  where  she  died  six  months 
later. 

To  be  complete  an  education  must  not  only  have  the 
benefit  of  faithful  class  work  but  also  that  of  a  literary  finish. 
An  application  of  this  fact  brought  about  the  formation 
in  Richmond  College  of  two  literary  societies — the  Philolo- 


College  Days  23 

gian  and  Mu  Sigma  Rho.  Though  membership  in  either  is 
not  determined  by  profession,  the  majority  of  ministerial 
students  are  members  of  one  while  those  in  the  law  de- 
partment usually  choose  the  latter.  Mr.  McNiel  was  a 
loyal  Philologian.  He  loved  to  sing  her  praises  and  did 
what  he  could  to  promote  her  success.  He  was  frequently 
heard  on  the  floor  advocating  or  opposing  some  proposition. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  none  had  more  influence 
in  this  department  than  he,  and  but  few  had  as  much.  His 
good  business  and  executive  ability  won  for  him  the  highest 
office  the  society  could  bestow,  that  of  president.  Unless 
the  writer  is  mistaken  Mr.  McNiel  was  the  first  in  many 
years  to  be  elected  by  acclamation. 

Not  only  in  business  debate  was  he  strong  but  was  espe- 
cially so  in  literary  discussion.  His  diction  was  free  and 
easy ;  his  arguments  were  well  arranged ;  and  he  had  the 
art  of  winning  the  sympathy  of  his  opponents  rather  than 
repelling  them.  But  his  greatest  attraction  was  his  unusual 
power  of  eloquence.  People  said,  "He  is  a  natural  born 
orator."  Perhaps  the  secret  of  his  power  lay  in  the  fact 
that  he  was  "natural."  If  he  used  thoughts  of  others  at  all 
he  first  incorporated  them  into  his  own  being,  made  them 
his  own  thoughts,  and  proclaimed  them  with  all  the  per- 
sonal conviction  of  the  author.  He  was  completely  free 
from  mechanical  gestures ;  and  those  that  he  did  make  were 
the  expression  of  his  own  soul. 

Each  year  these  two  societies  gave  jointly  a  medal  to  the 
best  orator  of  the  college.  During  these  contests  the  rivalry 
between  them  is  at  the  highest  pitch.  At  times  this  interest 
becomes  excitement  and  afterwards  leads  to  adverse 
criticism  of  the  judges  when  the  medal  goes  "the  wrong 
way."  At  the  close  of  his  graduating  year  Mr.  McNiel 
was  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  Philologian  Society. 
The  evening  of  the  contest  brought  the  usual  large  audience. 
The  orations  were  delivered  amid  much  applause,  some- 
times because  of  merit  and  at  others  for  effect  upon  the 
judges.  When  the  judges  returned  they  listened  to  the 
chairman  as  he  told  how  all  of  them  were  on  the  road  to 


24  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

fame  and  how  much  he  regretted  that  he  did  not  have  a 
medal  for  each,  but  as  he  had  only  one  it  would  be  awarded 
to  him  who  had  so  clearly  won  it.  They  were  almost  breath- 
less as  he  lifted  a  card  on  which  was  written  the  name  of 
the  winner  and  said  in  substance,  "With  one  accord  we 
have  awarded  this  medal  to  Mr.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel."  With 
equal  unanimity  the  audience  burst  forth  in  wild  applause. 
Congratulations  from  all  the  contestants  as  from  all  mem- 
bers of  both  societies  and  many  visitors  were  showered  upon 
him  with  the  greatest  freedom.  It  is  now  needless  to  say 
that  the  decision  of  the  judges  was  accepted  with  no  adverse 
criticism. 

As  in  many  of  the  states  so  in  Virginia  there  was  a  fur- 
ther stimulus  to  oratorical  effort.  Nine  colleges  of  the  state, 
including  the  University  of  Virginia,  sent  their  medal  win- 
ners to  Salem  to  contest  for  the  state  orator's  medal.  Mr. 
McNiel,  having  won  the  medal  at  Richmond  College,  was 
entitled  to  enter  this  contest.  How  anxious  were  all  that 
this  honor  should  be  brought  to  Richmond ! 

As  the  time  approached  the  interest  became  intense. 
"Will  Richmond  win  ?"  was  a  question  that  weighed  heavily 
upon  the  hearts  and  minds  of  all.  At  the  hour  when  the 
battle  was  being  waged  there  could  be  seen  groups  of  stu- 
dents discussing  the  probability  of  McNiel's  success.  At  a 
late  hour  when  they  were  satisfied  that  the  contest  was 
over,  the  hope,  yea  the  faith  that  McNiel  had  brought  that 
honor  to  Richmond  quieted  the  nerves  of  many  and  put 
them  to  rest.  They  some  how  felt  he  had  gained  the  vic- 
tory. Very  early  the  next  morning,  while  nearly  all  were 
still  slumbering,  one  over  anxious  young  man  holding  in 
hand  a  copy  of  "The  Times"  came  down  the  hall  by  leaps 
and  bounds  and  yelling  at  the  top  of  his  voice:  "Say,  boys, 
McNiel  got  that  medal !"  "Hurrah  for  McNiel !"  echoed 
scores  of  voices  behind  closed  doors.  Like  wild  fire  the 
news  spread  to  every  student  and  professor  on  the  campus. 
When  the  down  town  students  came  in  and  learned  what 
this  meant  they  also  entered  fully  into  the  spirit  of  the 
hour.  In  the  midst  of  the  noise  an  occasional  voice  could 


College  Days  25 

be  heard  to  say:  "Just  as  we  expected;  we  knew  McNiel 
would  do  it."  When  the  train  upon  which  he  returned 
arrived  it  was  met  by  about  a  hundred  students.  They 
obtained  permission  from  the  policeman  to  cheer,  and  when 
the  successful  contestant  emerged  from  the  stream  of  pas- 
sengers, the  cheer  was  swelled  to  almost  a  deafening  volume, 
so  delighted  were  they  to  bestow  honor  on  him  "to  whom 
it  was  due." 

Though  very  busy  in  other  departments,  Mr.  McNiel 
was  very  attentive  to  religious  work.  His  life  at  college  was 
a  standing  refutation  of  the  idea  that  students  have  no  time 
for  religious  or  "outside  work."  He  was  one  of  the  fore- 
most workers  in  the  college  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  when  a  num- 
ber of  "room  classes"  were  organized  for  a  special  study 
of  the  Bible  he  was  promptly  elected  one  of  the  teachers. 
His  class  selected  the  "Parables  of  Christ"  as  their  special 
line.  In  this  difficult  field  he  led  the  class  with  marked 
ability. 

His  college  life  was  made  more  useful  also  by  the 
amount  of  preaching  he  did.  Early  in  the  second  session 
while  doing  much  scattered  supply  work  he  was  called  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  Potomac  Baptist  Church,  in  King  George 
County,  Va.,  which  he  served  for  four  and  a  half  years. 
Although  he  was  very  busy  with  college  duties  he  did  in  this 
church  a  most  acceptable  work  as  was  shown  by  the  resolu- 
tions adopted  by  the  church  when  he  resigned,  also  by  the 
fact  that  on  hearing  of  his  death,  eight  years  afterward, 
they  held  in  honor  of  his  memory  a  memorial  service  partici- 
pated in  by  representatives  from  every  part  of  a  large  section 
of  country. 

During  his  vacations  he  did  much  evangelistic  work  in 
which  God  greatly  blessed  his  labors.  In  one  meeting  not 
far  from  the  church  mentioned  above,  over  fifty  souls  pro- 
fessed faith  in  Christ. 

In  all  the  "northern  neck"  of  Virginia  there  are  many 
that  will  "rise  up  and  call  him  blessed."  This  seed  sown,  this 
abiding  impression  made  during  his  busy  college  days.  Yet 
he  did  not  allow  it  to  interfere  with  his  class  work,  though 


26  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

the  pastoral  part  necessitated  the  loss  of  much  time  from 
college. 

On  the  part  of  most  people  there  is  a  tendency  to  eulo- 
gize unduly  their  friends  after  death ;  especially  is  this  true 
when  the  realm  of  the  inner  man  is  discussed.  But  from 
man's  viewpoint  Mr.  McNiel  was  to  his  companions  a 
model  Christian.  He  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  highest 
respect  of  the  entire  student  body. 

His  success  had  not  the  effect  of  making  him  vain  or 
creating  a  desire  for  personal  compliments.  In  the  midst 
of  honor  he  was  one  of  the  most  humble.  When  he  won 
his  orator's  medal  his  room-mate  was  at  home  attending 
the  bedside  of  a  dying  sister.  After  her  death  he  returned 
to  the  college  and  lived  in  the  room  with  Mr.  McNiel  more 
than  a  week  before  he  knew  of  his  having  won  the  medal ; 
and  then  was  told  by  another  student.  So  free  from  boast- 
ing was  he  that  his  thoughts  turned  to  the  sorrows  of  his 
room-mate  rather  than  to  his  own  honors. 

His  fellow  students  saw  him  tried  as  but  few  are  and 
learned  from  him  how  a  Christian  can  bear  up  under  the 
demands  of  God,  which  in  this  case  were  unusually  trying. 
Yet  he  faced  these  trials  with  the  courage  of  a  David.  He 
neither  borrowed  trouble  nor,  when  it  came,  did  he  chafe 
under  it. 

While  at  college  death  twice  invaded  his  home  taking  his 
two  remaining  sisters,  but  his  courage  did  not  falter.  Like 
Job  he  was  able  to  say,  "The  Lord  gave,  the  Lord  has  taken 
away:  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  and  so  turned 
his  mind  from  his  sorrow  to  the  discharge  of  present  duty. 
That  of  itself  was  a  powerful  testimony  to  God's  grace 
in  his  servant.  This  manly  Christian  courage  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  his  comrades  and  as  these  young  men  are 
scattered  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  so  wide  to-day  is 
his  influence.  During  this  college  course  he  had  the  un- 
speakable joy  of  baptizing  his  father  and  brother  who  were 
converted  in  his  meetings. 

What  was  God's  purpose  in  Mr.  McNiel's  life  and  was 
that  purpose  fulfilled? 


College  Days  27 

Since  God's  desire  to  impart  his  principles  to  man  is  so 
great  and  man's  power  of  comprehension  is  so  small  it 
becomes  necessary  at  times  to  leave  the  abstract  for  the  con- 
crete. This  he  did  for  Thomas  who  could  not  understand 
but  by  the  nail  prints.  May  not  God  have  used  Brother 
McNiel  as  the  nail  prints  to  many  a  young  man  who  doubted 
the  possibility  of  his  own  high  attainment?  Did  he  not 
labor  under  the  greatest  difficulties  and  attain  almost  the 
greatest  height?  Is  not  his  life  an  unanswerable  demon- 
stration of  the  power  of  courage  and  effort  ?  Will  not  God 
point  to  him  many  a  young  man  faltering  under  difficulties 
and  thus  stimulate  him  to  an  effort  that  will  lead  to  success  ? 
And  will  not  these  young  men  in  turn  thank  God  for  such 
an  example? 

Servant  of  God,  the  world  is  blessed  by  thy  well  spent 
life.  Enjoy  now  thy  rich  reward ;  for  when  thy  summons 
came  we  can  easily  hear  thy  response :  "For  I  am  now  ready 
to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have 
kept  the  faith." 


HI 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 


"There  is  the  quiet,  gentle  talk  of  a  holy 
heart,  immovably  fixed  on  the  one  aim  of 
always  and  everywhere  confessing  the 
Saviour." 

A.  W.  Thorold,  D.  D. 


Ill 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 


Mr.    McNiel    as   a   Theological   Student 

By  Dr.  C.  H.  Hewitt. 

Mr.  McNiel  came  to  the  Divinity  School  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  in  the  fall  of  1900.  He  was  more  mature  than 
most  of  our  students  and  had  more  experience  in  preaching 
and  Christian  work.  He  was  already  ordained.  By  virtue 
of  his  experience,  ability,  and  attractive  personality,  he  very 
soon  became  widely  and  well  acquainted,  and  filled  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  intellectual  and  social  life  of  the  institution. 

Not  many  weeks  of  student  life  had  passed,  however, 
when  it  became  manifest  that  his  health  was  not  robust. 
After  six  or  eight  months  he  left  the  school  and  accepted 
a  call  to  the  Maryland  Avenue  Baptist  Church  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  for  one  year,  at  the  expiration  of  which  term  he 
returned  and  went  forward  with  his  theological  study.  His 
experiences  seemed  to  enrich  and  ripen  his  nature,  and  he 
became  yet  more  decidedly  a  leader  in  the  devotional  life 
and  work  of  the  students. 

Of  his  work  in  the  Evangelistic  Band  another  is  to 
write,  but  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  his  influence  on  the  spirit- 
ual life  of  his  fellow-students  was  ever  stimulating  and  help- 
ful. Students  come  to  know  each  other  more  intimately,  and 
in  many  respects  more  perfectly,  than  they  are  known  by 
officers  or  members  of  the  faculty,  and  the  estimate  in 
which  one  is  held  by  his  fellows  is  one  of  the  best  tests  of 
his  character  and  influence.  It  is  only  just  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  McNiel  to  say  that  no  one  stood  higher  in  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  those  thus  intimately  associated  with  him 
than  he  did. 

He  was  also  highly  regarded  by  the  members  of  the 
faculty,  as  a  student,  a  Christian  gentleman,  and 


32  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

as  a  preacher.  It  was  in  this  last — his  work  as  a  preacher — • 
that  he  was  especially  happy  and  effective.  It  soon  became 
apparent  from  reports  that  came  back  when  he  went  out 
to  supply  different  pulpits  here  and  there  that  he  was  an 
exceptionally  able  and  interesting  speaker,  and  that  he 
impressed  people  by  his  intellectual  ability,  his  Christian 
spirit,  and  his  unaffected  devotion. 

It  was  with  unspeakable  regret  on  the  part  of  all  when 
it  became  manifest  that  his  health  required  him  to  relinquish 
his  studies  and  seek  a  more  favorable  climate.  He  had 
not  then  quite  completed  his  course  of  study,  and  was  never 
afterward  able  to  do  so. 

So  ended  the  career  as  a  student  of  one  of  the  noblest 
and  best  loved  of  the  many  who  have  in  our  Divinity  School 
made  preparation  for  their  life  work  as  ministers  of  the 
Gospel. 


University  of  Chicago  33 

Mr.  McNiel  in  Association  With  His  Fellows 

By  Rev.  James  W.  Durham. 

Mr.  McNiel  happily  combined  those  qualities  which 
drew  to  him  many  friends  and  made  him  an  admirable  com- 
panion and  helpful  associate.  He  was  by  nature  genial,  sym- 
pathetic and  unselfish.  These  qualities  combined  with  his 
noble  ambition  won  for  him  hosts  of  friends  and  admirers 
who  never  lost  their  love  for  and  confidence  in  him. 

When  I  entered  Richmond  College,  and  during  our 
three  years  there,  he  was  one  of  the  most  popular  "boys"  of 
that  institution.  In  fact,  to  the  boys  who  belonged  to  his  lit- 
erary society,  he  was  a  kind  of  idol.  The  name  of  J.  W.  T. 
McNiel  was  to  many  of  the  members  of  the  Philologian 
Society  a  clinching  argument  for  the  superiority  of  their 
society.  His  superior  knowledge  and  wisdom  above  that 
of  the  average  student  made  his  acquaintances  not  only  love 
but  reverence  him. 

When  I  entered  the  University  of  Chicago  it  was  a  de- 
light to  me  to  be  associated  with  him  even  more  closely 
than  at  college.  The  first  year  of  my  stay  at  the  university 
we  lived  next  door  to  each  other.  We  lived  together  like 
brothers  sharing  each  other's  purposes  and  plans.  He  never 
exhibited  any  childish  familiarity,  but  was  always  manly 
in  his  associations.  He  hated  all  forms  of  sham  and  little- 
ness. He  loved  truth  and  intellectual  as  well  as  moral  hon- 
esty, and  boldly  did  he  contend  for  them.  He  never  pretended 
to  believe  what  he  did  not.  He  was  not  a  time-server,  nor 
a  man  who  would  "play  to  the  galleries"  for  the  sake  of 
passing  popularity.  Such  moral  courage  in  private  as  well 
as  in  public  life  caused  others,  as  well  as  myself,  to  recognize 
in  him  a  man  of  strength  and  integrity,  whose  acquaintance 
was  worth  cultivating. 

McNiel  was  of  a  cheerful  disposition.  He  never  tried 
to  burden  others  with  his  troubles.  While  he  loved  the 
sympathy  of  his  fellows,  he  never  courted  it  by  bareing  the 
sorrows  of  his  own  heart.  His  cheerfulness  even  in  the 


34  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

most  distressing  sorrows  was  simply  remarkable,  and  he 
showed  what  a  man  can  endure,  who  has  a  strong  faith 
in  the  goodness  and  love  of  the  Father.  When  1  remember 
the  sublime  courage  with  which  he  bore  the  many  sorrows 
that  came  to  him,  I  can  but  feel  that  his  was  a  large  soul 
and  strong  faith. 

The  pain  of  all  this  he  bore  in  silence  only  showing  it  by 
the  manifestation  of  a  sublimer  faith,  a  sweeter  disposition 
and  an  enlarged  sympathy  for  the  sufferings  of  humanity 
everywhere. 

McNiel  impressed  his  fellows  as  being  a  manly  man, 
whether  in  the  class  room,  on  the  athletic  field,  in  private 
conversation  or  in  the  pulpit.  This  manhood  he  never 
sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  popularity,  nevertheless  it  made 
him  popular  and  won  to  him  those  who  love  the  true,  the 
good  and  the  beautiful.  Those  who  have  been  privileged 
to  know  and  associate  with  him  have  been  left  the  inspira- 
tion of  a  noble  character,  a  truly  heroic  soul,  an  unselfish 
spirit,  toiling  manfully  amid  increasing  sorrows  up  the 
rugged  road  to  God,  only  that  he  might  come  down  and 
help  those  needing  his  healing  touch. 


IV 
POTOMAC,  VA. 


"The  strength  of  gentleness, 
The  might  of  meekness, 
The  glory  of  courage  unafraid, 
A  constant  love,  a  tenderness  of  weakness, 
Were  in  his  face  and  life  displayed." 

Edward  H.  Griggs. 


IV 
POTOMAC,  VA. 

In  January,  1895,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mrs.  J.  O.  Kirk, 
wife  of  a  former  pastor  of  the  church,  the  Potomac  Church 
of  King  George  County,  Va.,  invited  J.  W.  T.  McNiel, 
then  a  youth  and  a  student  at  Richmond  College,  Va.,  to 
supply  for  the  church  until  they  could  get  a  pastor. 

Brother  McNiel  continued  to  supply  for  the  church  until 
June,  1896,  when  by  authority  of  the  church  at  Rocky 
Mount,  Va.,  of  which  Brother  McNiel  was  a  member,  the 
Potomac  Church  called  a  council  consisting  of  Rev.  C.  H. 
Ryland,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Alfred  Bagby,  Rev.  O.  Elyson  and  Rev. 
W.  W.  Owens,  who  met  at  the  Potomac  Church  on  Wednes- 
day, June  24,  1896,  and  after  satisfactory  examination  pro- 
ceeded to  ordain  Brother  McNiel  to  the  full  work  of  the 
ministry. 

The  Hanover  Church  of  this  county  having  taken  simi- 
lar action  regarding  R.  S.  Monds,  a  fellow  student  of  Brother 
McNiel  in  Richmond  College,  they  were  ordained  at  the 
same  time  and  place  by  the  same  council. 

Immediately  after  the  ordination  of  Brother  McNiel  he 
was  elected  pastor  of  the  church  and  entered  upon  his  first 
pastorate  September  1,  1896.  He  continued  to  serve  as 
pastor  while  pursuing  his  studies  at  Richmond  College  until 
August  20,  1899,  when  on  account  of  failing  health  he 
resigned.  That  the  church  was  very  reluctant  to  part  with 
him  is  shown  by  the  following  resolutions  passed  by  the 
church  at  the  time. 

It  having  been  necessary  on  account  of  ill  health  that 
our  beloved  brother  and  pastor,  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel, 
should  terminate  his  pastoral  relations  with  this  church; 
therefore  be  it 

Resolved:  I.  That  we  desire  to  express  our  high  appre- 
ciation of  Brother  McNiel  as  a  faithful,  consecrated  minister 


38  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

of  the  Gospel  of  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  and 
that  it  is  with  sincere  sorrow  we  agree  to  sever  the  very 
pleasant  and  profitable  relations  that  have  existed  between 
us  as  pastor  and  people  for  the  past  four  and  a  half  years. 

Resolved:  II.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  spread 
upon  our  church  records  and  a  copy  be  furnished  our 
Brother  McNiel. 

WILLIAM  J.  ROGERS, 

Church  Clerk. 


V 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


"His  being  working  in  my  own, 
The  footsteps  of  his  life  in  mine." 


Peloubet's  Notes. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

By  Rev.  R.  S.  Owens. 

In  September,  1902,  Mr.  McNiel  was  persuaded  to  ac- 
cept the  pastorate  of  the  Maryland  Avenue  Baptist  Church, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  for  one  year  before  returning  to  the 
University  of  Chicago. 

In  this  time  eighty-four  members  were  added  to  the 
church — forty-seven  by  letter  and  thirty-seven  by  baptism. 

He  was  an  indefatigable  and  faithful  worker;  one  who 
has  learned  the  secret  of  a  true  pastor,  by  knowing  his 
people,  of  both  church  and  congregation,  in  their  homes. 
Making  from  seventy-five  to  eighty  calls  per  month,  he 
found  out  their  needs  and  soul-desires,  and  responded 
around  the  home-circle  as  well  as  in  the  pulpit. 

At  the  time  of  his  resignation  he  was  held  in  the 
highest  esteem  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  had  written  his 
name  indelibly  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people  with  the  pen 
of  service,  which  is  shown  by  the  resolutions  offered  at 
the  time  his  resignation  was  accepted : 

WHEREAS,  It  has  been  deemed  best  by  our  beloved 
pastor,  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel,  to  sever  his  relation  as 
pastor  of  our  church,  in  order  to  fit  himself  for  the  great 
work  to  which  he  has  been  called,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  as  the  members  of  the  Maryland 
Avenue  Baptist  Church  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  will  ever 
hold  in  grateful  remembrance  the  noble  self-sacrifice  dis- 
played by  him  in  laying  aside  his  cherished  plans  and  dis- 
continuing his  studies  for  one  year  to  serve  us; 

That  by  his  untiring  efforts  and  devotion  to  the  Master's 
cause  in  this  community  he  has  won  the  admiration  of  us  all ; 

That  by  this  separation  we  lose  an  efficient  pastor,  an 
enthusiastic  leader  and  a  loving  friend; 


42  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

That  he  leaves  us  with  our  best  wishes  and  prayers  for 
his  future  success  in  the  Master's  kingdom. 

Done  by  action  of  the  Maryland  Avenue   Church  of 
Washington,  D.  C.,  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1903. 


VI 
ALBUQUERQUE,  N.  M. 


"In  his  simple  naturalness,  gentle  sensi- 
tiveness, absolute  sincerity,  quiet  courage, 
incessant  considerateness,  unwearied  self- 
forgetfulness,  we  see  what  makes  precious- 
ness  and  points  to  the  beauty  of  all  human 
friendship." 

A.  W.  Thorold,  D.  D. 


VI 

ALBUQUERQUE,  N.  M. 

Introduction  by  Dr.  C.  H.  Hewitt. 

Broken  health  made  it  necessary  for  me  to  spend  the 
first  three  months  of  1904  as  a  vacation  in  California. 
While  there  I  learned  to  my  surprise  and  sorrow  that  Mr. 
McNiel  was  unable  to  continue  his  studies  in  the  Divinity 
School  of  Chicago  and  that  on  advice  of  his  physician  he 
was  to  seek  a  more  favorable  climate  in  the  west. 

Knowing  his  ability  and  attractiveness  as  a  preacher, 
I  began  to  look  about  for  a  vacant  pulpit.  No  opportunity 
appeared  until,  on  our  return  east,  Mrs.  Hewitt  and  myself 
stopped  for  a  week  early  in  March  at  Albuquerque,  of 
which  we  had  heard  much  as  a  health  resort.  On  our 
arrival  we  found  that  Rev.  H.  G.  Powell,  a  former  friend, 
then  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church,  was  about  to  close  his 
pastorate  and  move  from  the  city.  It  occurred  to  me  that 
this  would  be  a  suitable  place  for  Mr.  McNiel,  and  that  he 
would  be  a  most  acceptable  supply  for  that  pulpit  and  a 
desirable  man  to  fill  the  office. 

The  retiring  pastor  was  pleased  with  the  prospect  that 
the  church  might  secure  at  once  so  good  a  man,  and  joined 
me  in  advising  the  church  to  invite  Mr.  McNiel  to  fill  the 
pulpit  for  a  time,  with  the  possibility  of  his  becoming  per- 
manent pastor. 

In  accordance  with  the  suggestion,  the  church  wrote 
him  at  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  where  he  had  gone,  inviting  him 
to  preach  for  them  at  his  earliest  convenience.  He  accepted 
the  invitation  and  so  soon  won  the  hearts  of  the  people 
that  they  called  him  to  the  pastorate. 

It  was  manifest,  however,  that  he  ought  not  to  under- 
take alone  to  minister  to  all  those  to  whom  the  churches 
in  such  a  place  should  carry  the  cheer  and  consolation  af- 
forded by  the  gospel  of  Christ. 


46  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 


Conference  with  Pastor  Powell  made  it  evident  that 
the  demand  for  Christian  sympathy  and  help  in  that  resort 
for  invalids  was  excessive.  The  opportunity  to  "go  about 
doing  good"  as  the  Master  Himself  did  was  unlimited,  and 
the  opportunity  to  those  having  the  spirit  of  the  Master 
was  a  call  to  duty.  The  Baptists  must  do  their  share  of 
this  work.  The  local  church,  with  its  limited  membership, 
could  not,  unaided,  do  this.  The  retiring  pastor  had  been 
nearly  crushed  in  the  endeavor  to  meet  urgent  demands 
and  was  compelled  to  relinquish  the  task. 

In  view  of  this  situation,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr. 
Powell,  I  formulated  an  appeal  to  the  Women's  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society  to  send  a  missionary;  to  that  field 
to  work  in  connection  with  and  under  the  advice  of  the 
pastor  of  the  church.  Towards  the  support  of  such  a  worker 
Pastor  McNiel  generously  pledged  $200  a  year  from  his 
own  moderate  salary. 

The  Women's  Society,  through  Miss  Mary  G.  Bur- 
dette,  gave  kindly  consideration  to  the  appeal  and  a  little 
iater  appointed  Miss  Mary  Carr  Merritt  to  render  the 
service.  She  began  her  work  December  1,  1904,  and  con- 
tinued it  a  little  over  two  years. 

Some  record  of  what  was  accomplished  may  appear 
in  this  volume ;  a  record  more  accurate  and  complete  finds 
place  in  God's  "book  of  remembrance." 


The  three  years  of  Mr,  McNiel's  pastorate  in  Albu- 
querque were  marked  by  the  closest  fidelity  to  the  Master's 
work  and  his  deep  interest  in  humanity.  It  was  a  rare 
privilege  to  listen  to  sermons  of  such  ability  and  moulding 
power;  sermons  which  revealed  a  large  and  vigorous  soul 
and  ever  led  the  hearer  to  nobler  heights.  To  illustrate 
this  we  will  share  with  the  reader  the  following  beautiful 
poem,  written  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Worth,  in  memory  of  a  sermon 
preached  by  Mr.  McNiel,  November  19,  1905,  "Abide  With 
Us,"  the  text  being  Luke  24 :29 : 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  47 

To  MY  BELOVED  PASTOR: 

Abide  with  us,  for  evening  draweth  near, 

The  lone  disciples  prayed; 
The  day  is  spent,  the  way  is  dark  and  drear, 

And  storm-clouds  lower  o'er  head. 

Our  hearts  are  sad,  as  silently  we  go, 

Or  speak  but  of  our  grief; 
No  words  can  measure  the  despair  and  woe, 

Or  minister  relief. 

A  stranger,  thou,  indeed !  or  thou  hadst  known 

The  awful  tragedy, 
Scare  three  days  since,  that  to  the  world  was  shown 

On  cruel  Calvary. 

We  thought  the  Christ  had  once  among  us  stood; 

We  saw  his  wondrous  power, 
And  trusted  that  the  Lord  had  visited 

His  Israel  in  that  hour. 

• 
He  called  us  each  by  name  to  follow  him ; 

How  gladly  we  obeyed, 
Forsaking  all,  counting  it  joy  to  win 

The  Hope  so  long  delayed. 

But  now  'tis  night,  and  not  a  star  doth  pierce 

The  blackness  of  our  sky ; 
That  hand,  which  dried  so  oft  the  mourner's  tears, 

Cold  in  the  grave  doth  lie. 

For  wicked  hands,  inspired  by  fiendish  hate, 

By  blinding  passion  led, 
Have  crushed  that  life,  so  warm  and  true  of  late, 

And  hope  (not  love)  lies  dead. 


48  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

But  fellowship  with  him  would  bid  us  look 

Not  to  our  griefs  alone; 
The  broader  love,  of  which  his  life  partook, 

Made  the  world's  woes  his  own. 

The  night  draws  on  to  thee,  the  way  is  long, 

And  dangers  may  be  near; 
Without  are  lurking  foes,  stealthy  and  strong; 

Come,  tarry  with  us  here. 

Thy  sympathy  sincere  has  power  to  turn 

E'en  sorrow's  tears  aside; 
Thy  words  of  love  have  made  our  hearts  to  burn ; 

Come,  and  with  us  abide. 

Constrained  thus,  he  enters  in,  and  lo! 

What  glory  greets  their  eyes ; 
In  welcoming  a  stranger,  they  behold 

The  Master  in  disguise. 

Their  risen  Lord !    He  whom  they  mourned  as  dead, 

Their  guest,  but  now  their  host; 
As  of  old,  he  blessed  and  brake  the  bread ; 

In  joy  their  fears  are  lost. 

O  living  Christ,  come  and  with  us  abide, 

Not  as  a  transient  guest, 
But  as  our  Saviour,  King,  Defender,  Guide, 

And  our  abiding  rest. 

We,  too,  have  felt  thy  words  within  us  burn 

With  energy  divine; 
And,  listening  to  thy  voice,  we  still  would  learn 

To  mould  our  lives  by  Thine. 

We  have  no  bounties,  Lord,  to  offer  thee, 

Nought  but  a  heart  of  love; 
And  that  would  ever  cold  and  lifeless  be 

Lest  quickened  from  above. 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  49 

; 

But  thou  hast  loved  us,  and  our  hearts  respond 

As  turns  the  sun-kissed  flower; 
Draw  thou  and  keep  us  in  that  deathless  bond, 

Thy  changeless  love  and  power. 

Help  us  to  open  wide  to  thee  the  door ; 

Loosen  each  secret  spring, 
That  thou  mayest  come  and  dwell  forevermore, 

Our  Master  and  our  King. 

His  pastoral  duties  were  planned  to  reach  the  largest 
number  of  sick,  sorrowing,  and  the  many  lonely  strangers, 
at  the  same  time  not  neglecting  the  members  of  his  flock 
who  were  more  fortunate. 

Every  suffering  heart  appealed  to  him,  regardless  of 
name  and  creed,  and  only  the  recording  angel  knows  all 
the  hours,  early  and  late,  which  he  spent  by  a  lonely  death- 
bed, or  with  stricken  hearts  at  the  train.  He  made  real 
to  us  the  words,  "The  wisdom  from  above  is  first  of  all 
pure,  then  peaceful,  courteous,  not  self-willed ;  full  of  com- 
passion, and  kind  actions  free  from  favoritism  and  from 
all  insincerity." 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1905  that  his  drives  through  the 
northwestern  part  of  town  impressed  him  with  the  large 
territory  covered  by  no  church  and  in  which  there  were 
many  members  of  his  own  church  who  were  too  ill  to  go 
so  far  to  service,  and  he  felt  that  if  they  could  not  go  to 
the  church,  the  church  should  go  to  them ;  so,  together 
with  the  solicitation  of  a  number  of  the  residents,  he  began 
Neighborhood  Prayer  Meetings,  the  first  being  in  the  home 
of  Mr.  I.  A.  Dye.  After  holding  a  number  of  such  meet- 
ings, Holden  Mission  was  organized.  The  Lord  prospered 
the  work,  and  in  January  a  tent-house  was  built  which 
was  dedicated  February  4,  1906.  He  was  prevented  by 
illness  from  being  present,  but  he  arranged  the  entire  pro- 
gram and  sent  a  letter  written  for  the  occasion  and  read 
by  Mr.  W.  K.  Preston,  which  revealed  his  deep  interest: 


50  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

To  the  Members  of  Holden  Mission : 

Dear  Friends : — It  is  with  deep  regret  that  I  am  de- 
prived of  being  with  you  on  this  happy  and  significant  day. 
Though  unavoidably  kept  away,  I  rejoice  with  you  in  the 
splendid  successes  that  have  already  crowned  your  labors. 

I  wish  to  avail  myself  of  this  privilege  publicly  to 
congratulate  you  upon  the  constant  and  uniform  progress 
the  work  of  the  mission  has  made  from  the  beginning  to 
the  present  day.  This  good  beginning  promises  a  strong 
and  useful  life  for  Holden  Mission.  And  in  addition  to 
the  encouragement  gained  from  past  successes,  you  have 
the  supreme  assurance  of  future  success  from  the  fact  that 
this  is  God's  work  and  you  His  co-workers. 

While  unable  thus  far  to  attend  any  of  the  services 
of  the  mission,  I  have,  nevertheless,  known  of  every  step 
in  the  work,  and  I  have  rejoiced  to  see  such  a  beautiful 
spirit  of  Christian  service  on  every  hand. 

You  have  not  been  lashed  into  this  enterprise.  You 
have  approached  it  voluntarily  and  have  thus  shown  a 
genuine  desire  to  be  true  to  your  Heavenly  Father  and  to 
render  service  to  your  fellow-men  as  opportunity  may  afford 
and  the  Master  may  direct.  Nothing,  in  my  mind,  makes 
this  work  more  promising  than  the  spirit  of  spontaneity 
which  seems  to  pervade  the  whole  mission.  This  is  evi- 
dence of  the  Divine  leading,  and  it  will  surely  result  in 
the  Divine  blessing. 

If  I  may  be  allowed  a  word  of  admonition,  I  should 
like  to  say :  In  your  Christian  service  do  not  narrow  and 
restrict  your  vision  of  duty  and  love  to  your  own  com- 
munity, but  rather  adopt  the  better  and  more  blessed  way 
of  keeping  before  your  mind  the  good  of  the  kingdom  at 
large.  In  this  way  you  can  most  beautifully  serve  Him 
whose  dominion  some  day  will  cover  the  whole  earth. 

May  you  have  that  joy  and  peace  which  filled  the 
Master's  mind  in  doing  the  Father's  will.  And  when  re- 
verses and  trials  come,  remember,  "His  cross  is  not  greater 
than  His  Grace."  Yours  fraternally, 

February  4,  1906.  J.  W.  T.  McNiEL. 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  51 

After  this  period  his  health  so  greatly  improved  that 
he  was  often  able  to  meet  with  them,  and  took  a  special 
delight  in  the  service.  Happy  in  returning  strength,  we 
find  him  devoting  himself  most  assiduously  to  every  detail 
of  his  work.  For  nearly  the  entire  year  following  he  pur- 
sued his  course  with  an  energy  his  friends  could  not  re- 
strain, but  so  modest  was  he  about  it,  all  that  almost  no 
one  had  any  idea  of  the  immense  amount  of  work  he  was 
doing.  However,  it  had  been  apparent  to  the*  missionary 
for  some  time  that  he  was  making  more  calls  than  the 
average  minister  in  robust  health. 

He  not  only  visited  and  preached,  but  he  sang  comfort 
into  aching  hearts.  January  6,  1907,  in  connection  with 
his  morning  service,  when  his  text  was  from  I  Cor.  15:58, 
he  sang  the  accompanying  solo  most  impressively: 


I  THANK  THEE,  LORD. 

For  the  cross  that,  day  by  day, 
Brings  me  unto  Thee  to  pray; 
For  the  agony  and  strife, 
For  the  bitter  in  this  life, 
I  thank  Thee,  Lord. 
Patience  unto  him  is  born 
Who  a  crown  of  thorns  has  worn. 

For  the  path  so  dread  to  me, 
That  in  fright  I  cling  to  Thee; 
For  the  chasm's  yawning  deeps, 
For  the  peril-laden  steeps, 

I  thank  Thee,  Lord. 
Then  it  is  I  hear  Thee  say: 
"Fear  thou  not;  I  am  the  Way." 

For  the   night  when  it  comes  on 
Like  the   darkness  ere  the   dawn ; 


52  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

For  those  hours   when   faith   must  be 
All  the  guide  that  leadeth  me, 

I  thank  Thee,  Lord. 
Then  I  know  how  needless  sight, 
If  Thou  only  art  my  light. 

NELLIE  A.  MONTGOMERY. 

January  and  February  were  marked  by  that  same  tire- 
less, self-forgetful  devotion,  nothing  moving  him  from  his 
sense  of  duty,  unswerving  to  the  end.  Sunday,  March  3rd, 
he  preached,  as  usual,  morning  and  evening,  and  we  are 
fortunate  in  having  the  outline  of  each  sermon,  both  of 
which  are  here  given.  These  notes  were  found  in  his  Bible 
as  he  had  left  them  on  Sunday. 

NOTES  OF   MORNING  SERMON. 

The  Lame  Man  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple. 

Text,  Acts  3  :6— "But  Peter  said,  Silver  and  gold  have 
I  none,  but  what  I  have,  that  I  give  thee." 

Introduction:  The  story  of  Peter  and  John  going 
into  the  temple. 

I.  Today  the  world's  needy  and  suffering  sit  at  the 
gate  of  the  temple  and  look  to  the  worshipers  of  God  for 
help. 

1.  The  idea  of  charity  and  helpfulness  are  associated 

with  the  Christian  religion,     (a)  Jesus  set  the 
example  of  helpfulness. 

2.  It  is  Christianity  and  her  devotees  who  build  hos- 

pitals, insane  asylums,  orphanages,  and  go  as 
angels  of  light  to  the  dark  places  of  want  and 
,  misery. 

Illustration:  When  the  Chinese  commissioners  were 
in  Chicago,  they  were  taken  about  by  a  delega- 
tion of  citizens  to  see  the  sights — the  railway 
stations,  stock-yards,  factories,  etc.  One  of 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  53 

the  chiefs  of  the  commissioners  being  asked 
what  impressed  him  most,  replied:  "The  hos- 
pitals, Hull  House  and  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work." 
These  they  did  not  have  in  China. 

3.  If  a  professed  follower  of  Christ  proves  discour- 

aging and  unhelpful,  he  is  branded  a  hypocrite, 
for  helpfulness  is  expected  and  demanded  of 
a  Christian. 

4.  Contrast  conditions  now  with  those  of  Pompeii 

and  Babylon.  Call  up  an  old-time  citizen  of 
each  and  show  our  good  sides,  and  also  our 
bad  ones,  which  are  relics  of  the  past. 

II.  After  all,  the  Gospel  does  not  aim  directly  at  im- 
proving men's  circumstances ;  it  aims  at  improving  men 
themselves. 

1.  The  primary  object  of  Christianity  is  not  to  give 

silver  and  gold,  but  life,  wholeness  of  life, 
abundant  life.  The  lame  man's  restoration  was 
worth  more  to  him  than  much  fine  gold.  A 
church  is  not  first  of  all  a  charitable  institu- 
tion. Her  work  is  to  build  up  character  through 
Christ  and  His  Gospel. 

2.  When   mankind  once  gains  moral  and   spiritual 

health,  material  improvements  and  blessings  will 
follow.  Charity  is  not  Christianity,  but  a  fruit 
of  the  Spirit. 

Conclusion :  He  who  looks  up  to  God  from  a  state 
of  sin  and  helplessness  will  get  more  than  he  ever  asked  or 
dreamed.  So  with  the  lame  man  at  the  gate.  God  gives 
abundantly  above  all  that  we  can  ask  or  think. 


54 


Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 


NOTES  OF  EVENING  SERMON. 


~4^~-  *+AU/T[*/ 

-C 

£-w_ 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  55 

Monday  and  Tuesday  were  spent  as  usual.  The  last 
letter  he  wrote  was  one  of  sympathy  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C. 
E.  Hulbert,  March  5,  1907,  upon  the  death  of  Dean  Hulbert. 
Tuesday  evening  after  supper  several  of  the  boarders  gath- 
ered about  the  piano  as  he  selected  and  sang,  "One  Sweetly 
Solemn  Thought,"  by  Ambrose.  How  true  were  the  words : 
"It  may  be  I  am  nearer  home,  nearer  now  than  I  think." 

The  next  morning  about  break  of  day,  with  scarcely  a 
moment's  warning,  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him.  The 
shock  of  his  death  was  felt  in  every  part  of  town.  In  their 
deep  grief,  all  grades  and  classes  of  people  were  saying: 
''We  have  lost  a  friend." 

The  funeral  was  held  in  the  church  Friday,  March  8, 
at  3  :30  p.  m.,  and  conducted  by  the  Ministers'  Association. 
The  crowded  house,  bountiful  floral  offerings  and  impressive 
service  attested  in  some  measure  the  love  of  the  people. 
At  the  close  of  the  service  the  body  was  taken  to  the  train, 
escorted  by  the  ministers,  and  started  on  its  long  journey 
to  rest  in  his  loved  Virginia  home. 

The  following  program  was  carried  out  at  the  service : 

Organ  Prelude — Funeral  March  (from  Sonata  op.  26) 

Beethoven 
Hymn — "My  Jesus,   As   Thou  Wilt,"   1st  and  3rd  verses 

Scripture  Reading Rev.  E.  Moser,  Evan.  Luth.  Church 

Prayer Rev.  J.  C.  Rollins,  Methodist  Episcopal 

Hymn — "Jesus,  Lover  of  My   Soul,"   1st  and  2nd  verses 
(Tune,  "Refuge.") 

Address Rev.  H.  A.  Cooper,  Presbyterian 

Address Rev.  J.  W.  Barron,  Congregational 

Duet— "My  Father  Knows" 

Mrs.  Silbernagle  and  Mrs.  Miller 

Address Rev.  J.  H.  Heald,  Congregational 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  Ministers'  Association  read  by 

Rev.  E.  E.  Crawford,  Christian  Church. 
Solo — "One  Sweetly  Solemn  Thought"  (Ambrose) 

Mrs.  Silbernagle 

Prayer  and  benediction. 

Mrs.  Rose  Futrelle  Gideon,  organist. 


56  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

The  following,  clipped  from  the  "Morning  Journal," 
expressed  the  sentiment  of  many  hearts : 

"Seldom  has  it  fallen  to  the  lot  of  a  resident  of  Albu- 
querque to  win  the  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  its  people 
that  belongs  to  the  late  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel,  pastor  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church,  who  was  laid  to  rest  yesterday 
with  fitting  honors.  The  funeral  was  held  yesterday  after- 
noon from  the  Baptist  Church,  all  the  local  ministers  taking 
part  in  the  services.  The  following  exceptionally  strong 
resolutions,  passed  by  the  ministers  of  Albuquerque,  show 
in  what  remarkable  esteem  this  man  was  held  by  his  fellows. 
The  resolutions  appear  on  the  minutes  of  the  Ministers' 
Association,  of  which  Mr.  McNiel  was  secretary,  as  follows : 

"1. — It  is  the  expression  of  this  body  that  in  the  passing 
of  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel,  this  city  has  sustained  a  loss  that 
is  irreparable.  A  manly  man,  a  true  citizen,  a  kind  and 
loyal  friend,  an  almost  ideal  Christian  character,  has  de- 
parted from  us  to  return  no  more.  But  the  inspiration  of 
his  life  among  us  can  never  fail,  and  our  memory  of  him 
will  always  be  God's  call  to  us  to  come  up  higher. 

"2. — It  is  also  our  deep  conviction  that  the  church  of 
this  city  has  lost  one  of  its  noblest  associates  and  helpers. 
In  a  very  real  sense,  Mr.  McNiel  belonged  to  the  church 
universal.  His  broad  views  of  Christian  teaching,  his  spirit 
of  unbounded  fellowship  for  all  Christian  people,  his  utter 
freedom  from  denominational  prejudices,  his  glad  and 
hearty  co-operation  with  every  good  work,  all  combined 
to  make  men  of  every  faith  fe-el  that  one  of  their  brothers 
has  passed  away  from  us  to  the  place  where  the  fullness 
of  God's  love  enables  all  followers  of  our  common  Master 
to  live  as  one  fold  in  the  presence  of  one  shepherd. 

"3. — Especially  do  we  desire  to  express  our  sincere 
sympathy  for  our  sister  church  in  her  bereavement.  They 
know  out  of  the  riches  of  a  long  association,  more  fully 
than  we,  how  profound  is  their  sense  of  loss.  Rarely,  in- 
deed, has  a  man  been  so  possessed  of  the  combined  qualities 
that  make  an  ideal  minister.  His  clear  perception  of  the 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  57 

truth,  which  is  the  inevitable  and  invariable  result  of  a  life 
of  intellectual  and  moral  honesty  and  purity;  his  eloquent 
presentation  of  it,  his  love  for  his  people,  which  was  too 
great  to  be  confined  to  them  alone ;  his  genial,  kindly  dis- 
position and  sympathetic  helpfulness,  will  make  his  place  in 
this  pulpit  very  hard  to  fill.  His  life  was  his  best  sermon. 

"4. — Personally,  we  wish  to  pay  our  tribute  to  him 
as  a  man  and  brother  minister.  To  know  him  was  to  love 
and  admire  him.  His  personality  was  a  rarely  beautiful 
combination  of  gentleness  and  strength.  To  him,  to  live 
was  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.  His  thoughts  were  God's 
thoughts,  and  his  life  was  the  expression  of  them.  His 
intelligence  was  great,  his  heart  was  great,  and  they  united 
in  a  great  service  to  his  fellow-men.  The  days  of  his 
earthly  life  were  wisely  spent,  therefore  the  Great  Law  of 
Compensation  has  given  him  his  liberation  and  his  reward. 
He  'allured  to  brighter  worlds  and  led  the  way.' 

"The  resolutions  were  signed  by  Rev.  Hugh  A.  Cooper, 
Presbyterian  Church;  Rev.  J.  C.  Rollins,  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church;  Rev.  J.  W.  Barron  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Heald, 
Congregational  Church;  Rev.  Ernest  Moser,  Lutheran 
Church ;  Rev.  O.  B.  Holliday,  Southern  Methodist  Church ; 
Rev.  Ernest  E.  Crawford,  Christian  Church,  and  Rev.  W. 
W.  Havens,  Methodist  Church." 

AN    EXTRACT    FROM    THE    ADDRESS    OF   REV.    HUGH    A.    COOPER 
DELIVERED  AT  THE   FUNERAL. 

"Thy  Will  Be  Done."  This  is  the  text  from  which  our 
brother  preached  his  last  sermon.  As  I  have  read  this 
sermon  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  Brother  McNiel  spoke 
with  prophetic  voice.  The  sermon  breathes  the  spirit  of 
the  man.  Though  he  did  not  know  the  end  was  so  near, 
had  he  known  it  he  would  have  said,  "Thy  will,  not  mine, 
be  done."  None  would  have  been  readier  than  he  to  recog- 
nize that  "a  man  is  immortal  till  his  work  is  done." 

From  our  point  of  view  today  it  seems  like  a  dark 
providence.  We  cannot  understand  it.  All  we  can  do  is 


58  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

in  faith  to  repeat  our  dear  brother's  last  text,  "Thy  will 
be  done."  "Even  so,  Father,  for  it  seemeth  good  in  Thy 
sight." 

Those  of  us  who  knew  J.  W.  T.  McNiel  know  that  he 
sought  ever  to  make  the  will  of  God  the  plan  of  his  life. 
This  is  what  made  his  life  so  beautiful.  This  is  why  he 
was  optimistic  always.  As  Emerson  said  of  Tennyson, 
"he  had  a  beautiful  soul."  "There  are,"  says  Froude,  "men 
who,  wherever  they  go,  create  an  epidemic  of  nobleness." 
McNiel  was  .such  a  man. 

One  thing  that  always  impressed  me  was  his  trans- 
parent sincerity.  The  word  sincere  comes  from  sine,  "with- 
out," and  cera,  "wax."  When  the  ancients  were  building 
mansions  of  marble,  some  workmen,  then  as  now,  were 
dishonest,  and  if  there  was  a  flaw  in  the  marble,  filled  it 
in  and  glossed  it  over  with  wax,  which  soon  dropped  out 
and  revealed  the  flaw.  To  avoid  this  there  came  to  be 
introduced  into  the  contract  the  words,  sine  cera,  "without 
wax."  Brother  McNiel,  as  I  knew  him — and  I  knew  him 
well — was  sincere.  All  he  did  was  in  the  open.  What  he 
believed  he  spoke.  He  stifled  no  conviction. 

Another  thing  that  impressed  me  and  helped  me  was 
his  kindness.  He  was  the  stranger's  friend.  He  would 
go  out  of  his  way  and  bestow  strength  that  he  could  ill 
afford  in  order  to  help  another. 

His  very  gentleness  made  him  great.  Though  young 
in  years,  he  was  a  man  of  exceptional  ability.  He  was 
an  earnest  student  and  had  a  natural  gift  of  oratory,  but 
of  these  I  need  not  speak.  We  all  knew  of  these  gifts 
and  prized  them. 

How  sadly  we  shall  miss  his  helpfulness  and  counsel 
in  our  Ministerial  Alliance.  Though  he  was  a  loyal  Bap- 
tist, in  the  larger  sense  he  was  a  Christian,  and  his  ambi- 
tion above  that  of  the  individual  church  was  the  advance- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  God. 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  59 

"Servant  of  God!  well  done! 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ; 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won, — 
Enter  thy  Master's  joy. 

"The  voice  at  midnight  came. 

He  started  up  to  hear; 
A  mortal  arrow  pierced  his  frame, 
He  fell— but  felt  no  fear. 

"The  pains  of  death  are  past, 
Labor  and  sorrow  cease, 
And  life's  long  warfare  closed  at  last, 
His  soul  is  found  in  peace. 

"Soldier  of  Christ!  well  done! 

Praise  be  thy  new  employ; 
And  while  eternal  ages  run, 
Rest  in  thy  Saviour's  joy." 

RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY  THE)  FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH, 
ALBUQUERQUE,  NEW  MEXICO,  MARCH  13,  1907. 

WHEREAS,  Our  Heavenly  Father  has,  in  His  infinite 
wisdom,  taken  from  us  our  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  J.  W.  T. 
McNiel ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  our  church  has  lost  a  wise,  kind  and 
efficient  pastor,  one  who  possessed  rare  intellectual  ability 
and  withal  a  deep  spirituality.  His  was  a  strong  nature, 
yet  his  sweetness  of  disposition  and  gentleness  of  manner 
endeared  him  to  all.  He  was  magnanimous,  and  of  no  one 
can  it  be  said  more  truly,  "He  was  God's  nobleman." 

Resolved,  That  his  memory  will  be  a  sacred  legacy 
to  our  church,  and  will  ever  be  an  inspiration  to  higher 
and  nobler  living.  We  will  not  say  "he  is  dead,"  but 
rather,  he  has  entered  God's  presence,  "where  there  is  full- 
ness of  joy  and  at  whose  right  hand  there  are  pleasures 
forevermore." 


60  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  the  family,  on  whom  the 
loss  falls  heaviest,  our  sincere  sympathy,  commending  them 
to  the  great  Comforter,  who  alone  is  able  to  sustain  them 
in  their  sorrow. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to 
the  family  of  our  late  pastor,  and  also  that  they  be  spread 
upon  the  church  records. 

MRS.  MARY  V.  SHUTT, 
MRS.  JOSEPHINE  E.  PRESTON, 
MR.  C.  D.  GOFF, 
MR.  J.  A.  HAMMOND, 

Committee. 

The  news  of  his  death  which  had  sped  to  his  host  of 
friends  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States  brought  forth  an 
universal  expression  of  sorrow. 

On  August  4th  a  memorial  service  was  held  in  Potomac, 
Va.,  the  first  church  of  which  he  was  pastor.  When  we 
realize  that  it  had  been  eight  years  since  he  left  this  pastor- 
ate, we  see  that  the  attachment  between  this  church  and 
pastor  was  most  unusual. 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  61 

An  Appreciation 

By  Rev.  Wilson  /.  Marsh,  Albuquerque. 

My  acquaintance  with  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel  began 
about  April  1,  1904,  when  he  assumed  the  pastorate  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Albuquerque. 

One  morning  I  heard  a  knock  at  my  study  door.  Upon 
opening  it  I  beheld  a  young  man,  tall  and  slender,  wearing 
high-top  boots  and  a  broad-brimmed  hat,  his  face  bronzed 
from  exposure  to  New  Mexico  sun  and  wind.  The  counte- 
nance, frank  and  open,  at  once  commanded  confidence,  and  I 
gave  him  a  cordial  welcome.  Presently  the  stranger  intro- 
duced himself  as  Mr.  McNiel,  the  new  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  For  health  reasons  he  had  been  spending  much 
time  out  of  doors  engaged  in  his  favorite  exercise  of  horse- 
back riding.  We  spent  a  pleasant  hour  together,  and  thus 
began  an  acquaintance  which  ripened  into  warmest  friend- 
ship. This  friendship  terminated  only  with  his  sad  and 
sudden  death,  to  be  renewed  some  day,  I  fondly  trust,  in 
a  better  world  and  under  fairer  skies. 

The  two  churches  of  which  Brother  McNiel  and  I  were 
pastors  are  located  only  a  block  apart.  It  has  been  the 
custom  for  many  years  for  the  two  congregations  to  unite 
during  the  summer  months,  giving  each  pastor  a  vacation 
in  turn.  For  these  reasons  Mr.  McNiel  and  myself  were 
naturally  closely  associated.  A  mutual  congeniality  en- 
hanced still  further  the  intimacy  and  pleasure  of  our  com- 
panionship. 

I  can  truly  say  that  the  better  I  knew  him,  the  more  I 
admired  and  loved  him. 

Mr.  McNiel  was  possessed  of  a  singularly  clear  and 
penetrating  mind.  I  heard  him  preach  only  a  few  times, 
but  was  impressed  with  these  mental  characteristics — origi- 
nality, lucidity,  and  logical  arrangement.  He  was  not  sat- 
isfied with  the  superficial,  with  that  which  would  occur  to 
the  merely  casual  thinker.  He  loved  to  delve  down  deep, 
and  to  bring  to  light  the  hidden  treasure.  No  matter  how 


62  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

profound  the  subject,  no  matter  how  diverse  and  various 
the  sources  from  which  he  drew  the  original  elements  of 
his  discourse,  when  they  had  passed  through  the  crucible 
of  his  mind  and  came  forth  in  the  finished  sermon,  they 
appeared  in  the  form  of  clear,  orderly  expositions  of  truth. 
His  perceptions  were  keen,  his  grasp  of  a  subject  strong 
and  comprehensive. 

While  one  might  admire  Mr.  McNiel  for  his  intellectual 
talents  and  attainments,  it  was  his  qualities  of  heart  that 
most  endeared  him  to  those  who  knew  him  best.  He  was 
of  a  kind  and  sympathetic  nature.  Above  all  was  he  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  whose  he  was  and  whom  he 
served.  I  have  seen  occasional  flashes  of  a  warm  southern 
temperament,  but  that  ardent  nature  was  softened  and  sub- 
dued by  the  genuine  Christian  spirit.  These  heart  qualities 
ennobled  and  vivified  the  intellectual  in  his  preaching.  In 
the  delivery  of  his  sermons  there  was  a  vast  reserve  of 
emotional  power  which  might  not  be  permitted  expression ; 
nevertheless  his  preaching  was  winning,  effective  and  elo- 
quent. 

But  Mr.  McNiel  was  more  than  a  preacher;  he  was  a 
man.  His  life  was  as  eloquent  as  his  sermons;  the  two 
were  consistent.  What  he  preached  on  Sunday  he  prac- 
ticed on  Monday.  From  the  pulpit  he  declared  the  doctrine 
of  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man;  then  in  private  life 
he  manifested  this  spirit  in  all  his  relations  with  others. 
While  loyal  to  his  own  convictions,  there  was  no  sectarian- 
ism or  bigotry  in  his  attitude  toward  other  Christians.  As 
far  as  mutual  sympathy  was  concerned,  he  and  I  were  more 
like  co-pastors  over  a  single  congregation  than  like  pastors 
of  two  neighboring  churches.  The  high  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held  throughout  this  community,  and  the  universal 
sorrow  over  his  premature  death,  bear  testimony  to  the 
catholicity  of  his  spirit  as  well  as  to  the  integrity  of  his 
Christian  character.  As  a  friend,  Mr.  McNiel  was  com- 
panionable and  lovable.  He  was  a  man  who  easily  made 
friends,  and  those  who  knew  him  well  were  warmly  at- 
tached to  him.  He  in  return  was  loyal  and  devoted  to  his 


Albuquerque,  N.  M.  63 

friends.    His  bright  mind,  congenial  disposition,  ready  con- 
versational powers,  made  him  a  delightful  comrade. 

We  wonder  why  it  is  that  one  so  gifted,  so  useful,  so 
loved,  should  be  taken  thus  early  in  his  promising  career 
from  the  world  in  which  he  is  so  sadly  needed.  We  can 
only  bow  in  resignation  to  the  will  of  Him  "who  doeth  all 
things  well."  But  our  sorrow  is  not  unmixed  with  re- 
joicing. Hope  whispers  of  a  brighter  morrow,  and  faith 
proclaims,  "We  shall  meet  again." 

"Green  be  the  turf  above  thee, 
Friend  of  my  better  days. 
None  knew  thee  but  to  love  thee, 
None  named  thee  but  to  praise. 

"Tears  fell,  when  thou  wert  dying, 

From  eyes  unused  to  weep, 
And  long  where  thou  art  lying 
Will  tears  the  cold  turf  steep. 

"When  hearts  whose  truth  was  proven, 

Like  thine,  are  laid  in  earth, 
There  should  a  wreath  be  woven 
To  tell  the  world  their  worth." 


64  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

The  Male  Quartette,  Albuquerque 

By  Prof.  J.  N.  Cadby. 

Knowing  Mr.  McNiel's  highly  refined,  generous  and 
sympathetic  nature,  one  would  expect  him  to  be,  as  he 
was,  a  sweet  s\nger.  Somehow  it  fitted  his  disposition  so 
well.  Like  his  preaching,  his  singing  was  genuine;  one 
knew  that  he  thought  of  what  he  sang  and  believed  what 
he  was  singing.  His  musical  Virginian  accent,  his  rich, 
clear  tenor  voice,  and  his  oratorical  powers,  all  combined 
to  make  his  singing  reflect  his  true,  upright  character  and 
sympathetic  disposition.  He  loved  music,  and  sang  even 
when  he  knew  he  was  overtaxing  his  limited  strength,  be- 
cause he  believed  in  music  as  a  means  of  elevating  man- 
kind. 

As  a  director  he  was  very  good ;  his  understanding 
of  music,  his  enthusiasm  and  his  untiring  energies  carried 
his  male  quartette  over  difficulties  which  would  have  caused 
most  people  to  give  up  in  despair. 

He  was  not  physically  able  to  sing  on  Sundays,  in  addi- 
tion to  preaching,  without  greatly  overtaxing  his  vocal  or- 
gans, but  he  continued  to  sing  with  us  until  the  end.  He 
carried  the  burden  of  the  quartette,  selecting  music,  arrang- 
ing rehearsals,  and,  what  was  no  small  task  in  the  transient 
Albuquerque  population,  kept  up  the  personnel  of  the  quar- 
tette. 

Those  of  us  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  sing  with 
him  and  to  hear  him  sing,  and  to  come  within  the  circle 
of  his  influence,  thank  God  for  McNiel.  who  was  one  of 
God's  masterpieces,  an  oasis  in  our  western  desert,  a  shining 
light  to  the  sick  and  dying;  sympathetic,  affectionate,  en- 
couraging and  faithful  "unto  death."  He  has  gone  on  to 
sing  the  new  song,  "where  there  is  no  more  sickness,  nor 
sorrow,  nor  pain,  nor  death." 

Members  of  the  quartette  were:  Mr.  McNiel,  Prof. 
J  N.  Cadby,  Dr.  Palmer  and  Mr.  Collister. 


VII 
EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS 


"He  sank  to  rest  as  sinks  the  evening  sun, 
A  prayer  upon  his  lips,  "Thy  will  be  done." 
Wondering,  we  look  toward  the  sunny  skies, 
Half  hoping  there  to  see  those  pitying  eyes; 
Those  eyes  so  deep,  so  gray,  so  kind,  so  true, 
Those  tender,  friendly  eyes — for  me,  for  you !" 


VII 
EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS 

"He  was  responsible  for  the  changed  ideas  of  life  that 
I  had.  He  helped  me  to  know  what  was  really  worth  while 
in  life,  and  to  realize  that  there  is  something  infinitely  higher 
and  better  than  this  worldly  life." 


"The  sweetest  picture  in  my  memory  of  Mr.  McNiel, 
and  the  one  that  came  to  my  mind  and  dried  the  tears  when 
I  first  heard  the  news  of  his  passing,  was  when  the  Evan- 
gelistic Band  was  holding  meetings  at  Hammond,  Ind. 

'"It  was  Sunday  night,  the  last  meeting  closing  the 
series.  The  service  was  over,  and  the  aftermeeting  was 
lingering,  the  people  loath  to  leave,  and  the  Band  loath  to 
have  some  of  them  go  who  were  still  in  the  valley  of 
decision. 

"I  had  stepped  into  the  vestibule  with  a  young  couple, 
who  were  leaving,  and  when  I  returned  to  the  auditorium 
Mr.  McNiel  was  again  speaking,  pleading  for  his  Master, 
in  tones  so  sweet  and  so  musical.  1  remember  being  im- 
pressed with  the  beauty  of  his  voice  and  the  evident 
sweetness  and  kindliness  that  pulsated  through  his  earnest 
and  tender  appeal.  Even  then  he  had  been  sick  during  all 
the  meetings.  Perhaps  it  was  the  sense  of  anxiety  and 
solicitude  for  our  leader,  which  hung  over  all  the  fellows 
of  the  Band  even  in  the  work  of  the  meetings,  or  perhaps 
it  was  the  dread  of  what  the  end  of  this  weakness  might 
be  to  one  whom  we  all  cherished,  but  anyway  I  know  my 
heart  went  out  to  dear  old  McNiel  as  he  stood  there,  em- 
bodying it  seems  to  me  now  something  of  the  love  of  the 
Saviour,  who  forgot  Himself  and  gave  Himself  for  others. 

"Mr.  McNiel's  leadership  was  perfect,  but  of  no  one 
could  it  be  said  more  truthfully  that  'His  banner  over  us 


68  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

was  love.'  His  modesty  was  so  genuine,  and  with  all  his 
gifts,  he  was  yet  so  unassuming. 

"One  other  picture  of  him,  which  is  so  fresh  in  my 
mind,  I  know  you  will  be  glad  to  hear. 

"One  day  perhaps  a  score  of  us  theologues  were  at 
our  Divinity  table  in  the  beautiful  men's  dining  room  at 
the  University.  It  was  shortly  before  he  left  for  Albu- 
querque. Somehow  the  conversation  drifted  to  some  knotty 
higher  critical  problem  which  partook  of  the  nature  of 
a  doubt  about  something  or  other  and  the  fellows  were 
expressing  various  views,  when  McNiel  spoke  up  in  such 
earnestness  but  with  that  happy  smile  of  his,  and  that  little 
chuckle  which  he  had,  and  said,  'Well,  I  don't  care,  I  know 
I  have  a  Saviour,  and  nobody  can  take  him  away  from 


"It  is  wonderful  what  amount  of  work  he  crowded  into 
his  short  life,  with  such  ill  health  to  fight  against.  He 
always  lived  near  to  God  and  that  accounts  for  it." 


From  a  letter  to  his  parents  by  Mrs.  A.  Holmboe,  repre- 
senting the  Ladies'  Missionary  Circle  of  Albuquerque: 

"Our  blessed  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  find  in  His  vine- 
yard the  rounded  out  and  completed  life  of  your  noble  son 
and  has  called  him  to  higher  realms  of  glory. 

"We  who  have  labored  by  his  side,  been  guided  by  his 
wisdom,  have  sustained  a  great  loss  for  his  presence  ever 
lifted  us  to  that  nobler  life  with  Jesus.  It  has  drawn  us 
away  from  the  muck-rake  service  to  this  world  and  shown 
us  the  joy  and  peace  of  a  closer  walk  with  God.  In  his 
very  last  message  to  us  he  could  not  have  besought  us  more 
earnestly  or  left  a  more  lasting  impression, 

"May  you,  in  this  dark  hour,  be  able  to  say  as  sweetly 
and  as  resignedly  as  he  did  in  his  last  words  in  the  service, 
'Thy  will,  O  Lord,  be  done.'  Think  what  it  means  to  claim 
a  son  whose  life  has  been  so  pure,  whose  character  so 


Extracts  From  Letters  69 

true,  whose  influence  for  the  Master  so  far-reaching!  Not 
only  has  our  church  learned  to  love  him,  but  the  whole 
city  of  Albuquerque  is  mourning  his  loss. 

"As  with  our  Saviour  so  with  Brother  McNiel,  his 
sojourn  in  this  world  was  thirty-three  years. 

"Oh,  the  lives  that  have  been  touched  by  his ! 

"His  patient  and  enduring  love  for  the  brethren  and 
his  exalted  Christian  life  will  inspire  us  to  a  more  consistent 
life  for  Christ." 


"I  was  most  intimately  acquainted  with  Brother  McNeil. 
Though  only  a  few  years  my  senior,  he  baptized  me  and 
preached  my  ordination  sermon.  There  was  no  man  who 
took  the  place  in  my  life  that  he  did;  and  it  was  because 
of  his  high  ideals  and  noble  Christian  character.  The  more 
I  knew  him  the  less  was  I  surprised  at  his  Christian 
manliness." 


"While  I  prize  his  sermons,  which  are  rare,  and  all  of 
his  public  work,  the  choicest  after  all  is  the  man  that  is  back 
of  everything." 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  of  Cleveland,  O.,  were  in  Albu- 
querque Christmas,  1906,  and  heard  Mr.  McNiel's 
Christmas  sermon,  and  remarked  to  a  member  afterward, 
"We  were  saying  as  we  came  away  from  the  church  how 
much  a  sermon  like  that  must  cost;  not  in  mental  effort 
alone,  but  most  of  all  in  cultivation  of  heart  and  life!  We 
can't  understand  how  a  little  place  like  this  can  have  such 
a  man  as  that." 


From  a  letter  written  to  Mr.  McNiel  by  one  of  his 
members,  June  1905 : 

"There  is  one  thing  you  must  not  lose  sight  of,  you  are 


70  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

a  great  blessing  to  us.  It  should  comfort  you  greatly.  All 
these  invalids  and  their  self-denying  relatives  need  great 
spiritual  sermons,  not  from  a  man  who  never  was  sick,  but 
from  one  who  suffers  pain  and  self-denial  as  they  do,  then 
their  words  go  home  to  their  hearts  and  lives.  It  is  as 
Paul  said  of  Jesus,  'For  we  have  not  a  high  priest  who  can 
not  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities  but  one 
who  was  tempted  in  all  points  like  as  we  are,  yet  without 
sin.'  You  suffer  as  they  do  here  and  you  can  reach  their 
hearts  and  lives.  God  bless  you  in  this  great  work,  and 
speak  through  you  to  these  people.  You  are  an  apostle  to 
the  consumptives,  dear  brother ;  God  bless  you !" 


From  a  member  after  he  died: 

"How  much  such  sweet  characters  as  Mr.  McNiel's 
are  missed  in  this  world.  If  the  world  only  had  more  like 
him  how  much  better  it  would  be.  I  always  felt  each  time 
I  heard  Mr.  McNiel  that  I  was  lifted  a  little  higher.  Each 
talk  with  him  gave  me  a  new  thought." 


"When  I  met  him  last  summer  (Washington,  D.  C., 
1906,)  I  told  him  I  was  glad  to  meet  one  man  whom  every 
one  loved." 


"The  message  he  brought  to  us  (Pueblo,  Colorado,)  on 
Thursday  evening  has  been  often  spoken  of,  but  one  little 
incident  stands  out  more  prominently  than  any  other.  It 
was  one  night  when  he  had  been  in  my  home.  You  know 
there  are  some  people  you  can  get  closer  to  than  others. 
When  I  walked  to  the  car  with  him  he  said,  in  referring  to 
his  health,  'God  knows  best  and  I  am  trusting  Him.'  These 
are  common  words,  but  they  seemed  to  come  to  me  with 
peculiar  force,  and  have  made  an  impression  on  my  mind 
I  never  will  forget." 


Extracts  From  Letters  71 


"He  was  my  closest  and  dearest  friend.  We  were  in 
college  together  five  years.  No  nobler  character  could  be 
found  anywhere.  He  was  making  his  mark  in  the  world 
and  would  have  been  one  of  our  brightest  lights." 


"I  am  so  thankful  I  could  attend  the  last  prayer  meet- 
ing he  conducted  on  earth.  These  words  come  to  me  from 
his  prayer,  'Dear  Lord,  if  there  is  anything  in  our  hearts 
that  keeps  us  from  Thee,  take  it  away.'  Not  long  before 
he  died  I  went  to  hear  him  preach,  though  I  am  a  member 
of  another  church.  During  the  sermon  he  said,  "I  am  going 
to  repeat  some  words  that  I  have  often  used  in  your  hearing, 
because  I  love  them  so.  'Come  unto  Me  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden  and  I  will  give  you  rest.'  Then  he 
spoke  such  beautiful  words  of  comfort,  'when  you  are 
weary,  heartsick,  tired  of  the  turmoil  and  strife  of  life, 
turn  to  Jesus,  he  will  give  you  rest,  peace/  I  can  not  tell 
you  the  rest;  I  only  remember  tears  ran  down  my  cheeks 
as  I  listened  to  him." 


"I  went  into  the  college  building  and  to  the  room  we 
occupied.  I  stood  there  alone  and  thought  of  our  past  years 
and  him  whose  life  was  so  valuable  to  his  companions. 
Honored  he  was  and  he  deserves  much  honor." 


"The  story  of  this  song  ('One  Sweetly  Solemn 
Thought')  in  the  last  two  weeks  of  his  life  seems  remark- 
able. In  my  memory  it  is  sacredly  dedicated  to  this  funeral 
service  and  I  do  not  wish  to  use  it  at  another." 


The  Baptist  Standard,  Chicago,  111.,  introduces  a  long 
article  by  saying:  "One  of  the  ablest,  most  promising  and 


72  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

best  beloved  of  recent  students  of  the  Divinity  School  has 
speedily  followed  our  lamented  Dean  Hulbert  to  the  better 
land." 


The  Religious  Herald  of  Richmond,  Va.,  pays  him  a 
beautiful  tribute  from  which  we  can  quote  but  a  few  words : 

"He  was  a  preacher  of  exceptional  powers,  persuasive 
and  thoughtful  in  his  message,  earnest  in  his  work.  He  had 
a  burning  love  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  many  were 
converted  under  his  able  ministry." 


VIII 
MEMORIAL  SERVICES 


THINE. 

Whose  eye  foresaw  this  way? 

Not  mine. 
Whose  hand  marked  out  this  day  ? 

Not  mine. 
A  clearer  eye  than  mine, 

'Twas  Thine. 
A  wiser  hand  than  mine, 

'Twas  Thine! 
Then  let  my  hand  be  still 

In  Thine, 
And  let  me  find  my  will 

In  Thine ! 

Maltbie  D.  Babcock. 


VIII 
MEMORIAL  SERVICES 


A    Memorial    and    a    Tribute 

By  Rev.  W.  Edgar  Woodruff. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Mr.  McNiel  it  was  suggested 
that  a  simultaneous  memorial  service  be  conducted  by  his 
clergymen  friends  in  their  several  churches.  The  memorial 
was  delayed,  however,  for  several  months  owing  to  the 
absence  in  the  Orient  of  some  of  his  most  intimate  friends. 
Upon  their  return  the  plan  was  carried  out,  and  copies  of 
the  following  letter,  of  which  we  give  extracts,  were  mailed 
to  all  of  his  most  intimate  college  and  university  friends. 
The  letter  itself  is  a  good  explanation  of  the  spirit  and 
purpose  of  the  memorial : 

"Minneapolis,  Minn.,  Aug.  28,  1907. 
"Dear  Brother : 

"For  some  time  the  friends  of  the  late  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 
have  had  in  mind  a  simultaneous  memorial  service,  but  the 
absence  of  some  of  his  friends  in  the  Orient  has  delayed  it 
hitherto.  But  now  such  a  service  seems  to  be  opportune. 

"The  plan  in  brief  is  as  follows:  (1)  That  all  of  his 
most  intimate  college  and  university  friends  who  are  in  the 
pastorate  be  invited  to  co-operate.  (2)  That  the  morning 
or  evening  service  of  September  15  be  made  a  memorial 
service  in  which  his  life  and  influence  upon  his  fellows 
be  made  the  basis  of  the  message ;  or  (3)  That  his  character 
be  used  as  illustrative  of  the  truth  of  the  hour. 

"His  friends  feel  that  his  life,  though  brief,  was  one 
of  unusual  usefulness  and  helpfulness,  and  that  it  may 
profitably  be  made  the  basis  of  a  most  inspiring  message. 
Blessed  is  the  man  who  wears  a  smile  through  sunshine 


76  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

and  through  shower  and  can  make  a  place  of  exile  a  place 
of  cheer !  Spiritual  realities  have  been  made  more  tangible 
to  some  of  us  because  of  his  unwavering  faith ;  the  Unseen 
more  inviting  because  he  is  there.  As  one  of  his  friends 
you  are  invited  to  co-operate  in  this  memorial." 

It  was  not  possible  to  reach  some  of  Mr.  McNiel's 
friends  as  their  addresses  could  not  be  ascertained;  others 
could  not  participate  because  of  absence  from  their  pulpits 
on  vacation ;  while  a  few  were  not  located  in  pastorates. 
There  were  doubtless  other  pastors  who  participated  but 
failed  to  notify  me.  The  following  replied:  Rev.  Alva  J. 
Brasted,  Lisbon,  N.  D. ;  Rev.  John  M.  Linden,  Oregon  City, 
Ore. ;  Rev.  J.  C.  Garth,  Napa,  Cal. ;  Rev.  John  E.  Ayscue, 
Greenville,  N.  C. ;  Rev.  Charles  B.  Elliott,  Breckenridge, 
Minn. ;  Dr.  Rolvix  Harlin,  Dixon,  Ills. ;  Rev.  W.  L.  Richard- 
son, Athens,  W.  Va. ;  Dr.  John  W.  Bailey,  Oskosh,  Wis. ; 
Rev.  John  H.  Larson,  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Rev.  W.  Edgar 
Woodruff,  Minneapolis,  Minn. ;  Rev.  J.  A.  Shaw,  Albu- 
querque, N.  M. ;  Rev.  Lester  M.  Burwell,  Reno,  Nev., 
pastor  of  First  M.  E.  Church ;  Rev.  W.  J.  Marsh,  pastor  of 
First  Congregational  Church,  Albuquerque,  N.  M. 

[The  address  that  follows  is  substantially  the  sermon 
that  the  author  of  this  article  (and  originator  of  the  plan 
of  memorial  services)  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  the 
memorial,  Sept.  15,  and  is  reproduced  here  by  request. — Ed.] 

"The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm-tree :  he 
shall  grow  like  a  cedar  in  Lebanon." — Psalm  92 :12. 

In  a  much-worn  Bible  that  was  given  me  by  Rev.  J.  W. 
T.  McNiel  when  he  was  leaving  Chicago  for  New  Mexico, 
I  find  marked  the  words  of  our  text.  It  was  the  Bible  he  used 
when  a  student  in  college.  Its  dilapidated  condition  bears 
witness  to  the  service  it  had  rendered.  On  looking  it  over  I 
find  that  the  torn  and  faded  leaves  are  in  themselves  an  index 
to  McNiel's  character.  The  Psalms,  Isaiah,  the  Gospel  of 
John  and  Paul's  letters,  especially  Romans,  bear  unmistak- 
able evidence  as  to  the  source  and  strength  of  his  faith. 
Among  the  many  marked  passages  in  this  book  that  was 


Memorial  Services  77 

his  companion  and  inspiration,  I  find  that  of  our  text,  and 
I  take  it  as  illustrative  of  both  the  beauty  and  influence  of 
his  life. 

The  beauty  of  the  palm-tree  was  proverbial  throughout 
the  ancient  East.  The  Bedouin  all  but  worshipped  it. 

The  tall,  serene,  majestic  palm  is  a  fitting  picture  of  the 
righteous  man.  Encircling  the  oasis  like  a  cluster  of 
emeralds,  or  skirting  the  banks  of  the  river  like  sentinels 
on  duty,  the  palm  beckons  the  weary  and  dust-covered 
caravan  to  rest  and  refreshment.  The  great  personalities  of 
the  world,  the  real  Giant  Great  Hearts,  raise  their  heads 
above  the  barren  wastes  and  commonplaceness  of  the  rest 
of  us  as  the  palm  above  the  cacti.  They  are  to  us  a  place 
of  refreshment  and  cheer.  So  it  was  with  McNiel.  He  was 
not  the  tall  redwood  of  the  California  forests,  awe-inspiring 
and  depressing  in  its  immensity,  but  he  was  a  big  brother 
whose  friendship  and  help  any  one  was  proud  to  receive. 
No  one  ever  felt  the  least  hesitancy  in  going  to  him  with 
the  most  perplexing  soul  problem.  Just  because  his  religion 
was  of  the  muscular,  athletic  variety,  free  from  the  veneer  of 
piestic  phraseology,  he  readily  became  the  councillor  and 
friend  of  college  and  university  men. 

Many  species  of  palm  flourish  amid  desolate  and  desert 
environment.  So  the  life  of  the  righteous  man  stands  out 
in  striking  contrast  to  the  barren  sage  brush  life  of  those 
about  him. 

In  the  early  spring  the  desert  is  clad  in  a  mantle  of 
green,  verily  it  blossoms  as  the  rose.  But  let  the  scorching 
heat  of  summer  fall  upon  it  and  its  beauty  fades  in  a  single 
day.  So  the  faith  of  many  of  us  flourishes  and  is  beautiful 
so  long  as  we  are  bedewed  with  the  moisture  of  love  and 
friends  and  prosperity;  but  let  the  sun  of  life's  shifting 
seasons  fall  full  upon  us  and  our  faith  and  Christian  sweet- 
ness withers  like  the  desert  grass !  Not  so  the  giant  palm. 
Not  so  our  friend  McNiel. 

Few  young  men  have  been  put  to  the  test  of  faith 
that  he  was  and  kept  sweet.  With  him  climax  was  followed 
by  anti-climax,  defeat  (in  health)  followed  on  the  heels  of 


78  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

victory,  and  grief  close  upon  rejoicing.  Graduated  from 
college  with  honors  and  married  to  a  beautiful  young  wife, 
they  entered  the  University  of  Chicago  with  the  full  flush 
of  hope  and  victory.  A  few  months  and  his  young  wife 
is  resting  beneath  the  sod  in  her  Virgina  home,  and  he  is 
shepherding  the  flock  of  the  Maryland  Avenue  Baptist 
Church  of  Washington,  D.  C.  After  a  year  he  again 
resumed  his  theological  work  in  the  University  of  Chicago. 
The  Evangelistic  Band,  an  organization  of  ten  young  theo- 
logical students  banded  together  for  the  purpose  of  doing 
evangelistic  work  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago,  had  just  been 
organized.  Mr.  McNiel,  because  of  his  experience  in  such 
work,  was  made  leader.  The  organization  met  with  unex- 
pected success.  At  Michigan  City,  Indiana,  as  the  result 
of  three  days  of  services  the  Band  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
seventy-five  persons  surrender  themselves  to  Christ  and 
take  him  as  Saviour  and  Lord.  When  we  returned  to  the 
university  the  divinity  students  showed  as  much  genuine 
enthusiasm  over  the  work  done  as  though  we  had  been  a 
football  team  returning  from  a  victory.  McNiel  was  the 
recognized  champion.  Many  times  before  he  had  known 
what  it  meant  to  hear  his  name  cheered  as  an  athletic  hero, 
but  to  know  that  he  was  the  recognized  leader  of  a  "team" 
for  Christ  both  pleased  and  humbled  him.  He  was  most 
happy,  and  the  future  prospects  looked  bright.  He  was  soon 
to  finish  his  theological  course,  and  there  were  churches  both 
East  and  West  that  were  in  correspondence  with  him  relative 
to  his  future  location.  But  no !  Such  was  not  to  be  his 
lot.  Like  a  bolt  from  the  blue  the  order  of  his  physician 
came  to  go  to  New  Mexico,  there  to  wage  a  life  and  death 
struggle.  Slowly  and  unnoticed  the  disease  had  crept  upon 
him.  His  friends  were  the  first  to  detect  it  and  advised  him 
to  consult  a  physician,  but  his  hopeful  nature  and  the  fact 
that  he  was  an  athlete  was  enough  to  deceive  both  himself 
and  the  first  physician  that  examined  him.  By  much  per- 
suasion he  was  finally  induced  to  consult  another  doctor. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  Sunday  morning  I  accompanied  him 
to  the  physician's  office  to  receive  the  final  verdict.  The 


emorial  Services  79 


doctor  gave  it  to  him  and  then  advised  him  to  leave  Chicago 
at  once  for  a  more  favorable  climate,  saying,  "You  have  a 
fighting  chance." 

So  near  the  realization  of  his  dream  of  a  completed 
theological  training,  a  parish,  and  a  home,  and  yet  so  far! 
"Exiled"  said  his  friends,  but  let  me  hasten  to  say  that  he 
never  spoke  of  it  in  that  way. 

Within  a  week  he  was  leaving  for  New  Mexico,  not  in 
dejection  and  discouragement  but  with  faith  in  his  heavenly 
Father  and  confidence  that  he  was  going  to  get  well.  His 
purpose  was  to  go  to  Santa  Fe  and  join  a  government 
ranger,  who  should  help  him  to  live  his  life  in  the  open. 
But  circumstances  decreed  it  otherwise,  and  he  soon  found 
his  way  into  a  place  of  usefulness — a  thing  he  would  have 
done  had  he  been  banished  to  Siberia.  Notwithstanding 
all  these  disappointments  he  remained  steadfast,  unshaken, 
hopeful.  Oliver  Goldsmith  was  describing  him  when  he 
said  of  the  village  preacher : 

"As  some  tall  cliff,  that  lifts  its  awful  form, 
Swells  from  the  vale  and  midway  leaves  the  storm, 
Though  round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  are  spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  head." 

One  is  led  to  ask  for  the  secret  of  all  this,  as  even  the 
casual  observer  asks  for  the  secret  of  the  palm's  verdure 
and  thrift.  Situated  as  it  often  is  close  to,  if  not  in  the 
very  midst  of,  a  desert  environment,  why  is  it  that  the 
palm  nevertheless  finds  nourishment  and  flourishes  while  its 
companions,  the  sage  brush  and  cacti,  like  unthrifty  peas- 
ants, eke  from  the  soil  a  bare  existence?  Why  is  it  that 
even  in  college  and  university  circles  we  find  a  number 
of  men,  with  equal  advantages,  pursuing  the  same  courses 
of  study,  but  one  of  them  towers  above  the  others  as  the 
palm  above  the  cacti.  The  secret  of  the  palm  is  the  secret 
of  the  righteous  man.  They  both  have  a  secret  fountain 
of  nourishment  whose  source  is  unknown,  or  whose  fullness 
remains  untapped  by  their  fellows.  As  the  palm  seeks  the 
rim  of  the  oasis,  hugs  the  banks  of  the  winding  river,  or 


80  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

when  found  upon  the  desert,  sends  its  roots  down  deep  and 
taps  the  arteries  of  moisture  below,  so  the  good  man  keeps 
his  life  in  touch  with  the  Source  of  life. 

No  one  can  examine  the  worn  and  frayed  Bible  that 
J.  W.  T.  McNiel  used  during  his  early  life  and  fail  to 
find  the  source  and  explanation  of  his  superior  character. 
In  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  he  has  underlined  Pilate's  ques- 
tion, "What  shall  I  do  with  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ  ?" 
Men  have  done  many  things  with  him.  Some  have  ignored 
him ;  some  have  pretended  to  accept  him  and  have  presented 
to  the  world  such  a  caricature  of  His  face  as  to  cause  His 
name  to  become  a  hiss  and  a  by-word.  Mr.  McNiel  took 
this  question  seriously  and  answered  it  intelligently.  Wel- 
coming Christ  as  the  light  and  inspiration  of  his  life,  he 
made  Him  attractive  to  others.  Christianity's  best  adver- 
tisement is  not  upon  paper  but  upon  the  hearts  of  her  loyal 
subjects. 

There  is  yet  another  thought  contained  in  our  text 
which  should  have  attention.  "The  righteous  shall  flourish 
like  a  palm  tree;  he  shall  grow  like  a  cedar  in  Lebnaon." 
I  suspect  the  Psalmist  thought  of  the  palm  more  as  a  shade 
tree,  an  ornament,  than  as  a  thing  of  utility.  To  him  it 
represented  the  aesthetic  quality  of  the  good  life ;  that  about 
the  good  man  which  is  pleasing  to  the  eye  and  refreshing 
to  the  spirit.  But  it  is  not  enough  to  be  good ;  one  should 
be  good  for  something.  So  in  describing  the  utility  aspect 
of  the  good  man's  life  he  changes  the  parallelism  a  little 
and  compares  him  to  the  cedar  in  Lebanon. 

The  forest  of  gigantic  cedars  upon  picturesque  Mount 
Lebanon  was  one  of  the  marvels  of  the  age.  Not  only  do 
the  Hebrew  writers  of  that  time  mention  them  but  reference 
is  made  to  them  by  the  Greek  and  Egyptian  writers  as  well. 
They  were  both  pleasing  to  the  eye  and  also  valuable  as 
building  material.  From  their  tall  trunks  the  palace  of 
David  and  the  temple  of  Solomon  were  constructed.  The 
life  of  the  good  man  is  builded  into  the  temple  of  his  fellow- 
men.  McNiel  is  dead  only  in  the  sense  that  Lebanon  has 
been  denuded  of  her  beautiful  forest.  The  trees  became 


Memorial  Services  81 

the  temple  of  Jehovah  where  they  wrought  themselves  into 
the  emotions,  vows  and  conduct  of  the  Hebrew  people. 
They  were  transformed  into  poetry,  psalm  and  prayer.  So 
the  life  of  our  friend  has  been  wrought,  let  us  hope,  into  the 
temple  of  humanity.  The  impress  he  left  upon  many  of 
us  will  be  felt  years  to  come.  He  numbered  among  his 
friends  people  of  many  beliefs.  A  young  Hebrew  in  the 
University  of  Chicago  was  often  dubbed  a  "Christian" 
because  of  his  admiration  for  McNiel.  A  Catholic  lady 
writes  me  expressing  her  admiration  for  him.  Another 
friend,  writing  of  the  memorial  services  says,  "May  the 
Lord  use  these  services  to  make  more  McNiels." 

Rev.  J.  M.  Linden,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Oregon  City,  Ore.,  writes :  "I  shall  never  forget  his 
influence  over  me,  especially  when  he  was  leader  of  the 
Evangelistic  Band  at  the  university.  What  sermons  he 
preached  during  that  campaign!  His  Lord  stood  out  and 
McNiel  was  out  of  sight.  I  tell  you,  Woodruff,  he  changed 
the  message  for  some  of  us  as  we  listened  to  him." 

Although  he  was  only  thirty-three  years  of  age  when 
he  was  called  away,  the  influence  that  he  left  upon  those 
who  knew  him  forces  me  to  believe  that  his  life  accomplished 
the  purpose  whereunto  God  had  planned  it.  What  he  might 
have  accomplished  had  he  been  spared  no  one  can  con- 
jecture. But  when  my  mind  begins  to  brood  over  the  brevity 
of  his  life  I  console  myself  with  the  words  of  Shelley,  found 
in  his  lament  over  the  untimely  death  of  the  young  poet 
Keats : 

"Peace,  peace !  he  is  not  dead,  he  doth  not  sleep 

He  hath  awakened  from  the  dream  of  life — 

'Tis  we,  who,  lost  in  stormy  visions,  keep 

With  phantoms  an  unprofitable  strife, 

And  in  mad  trance,  strike  with  our  spirits  knife 

In  vulnerable  nothings.     We  decay 

Like  corpses  in  a  charnel;  fear  and  grief 

Convulse  us  and  consume  us  day  by  day, 

And  cold  hopes  swarm  like  worms  within  our  living  clay. 


82  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

"He  has  outsoared  the  shadow  of  our  night; 

Envy  and  calumny  and  hate  and  pain, 

And  that  unrest  which  men  miscall  delight, 

Can  touch  him  not  and  torture  not  again; 

From  the  contagion  of  the  world's  slow  stain 

He  is  secure,  and  now  can  never  mourn 

A  heart  grown  cold,  a  head  grown  gray  in  vain; 

Nor,  when  the  spirit's  self  has  ceased  to  burn, 

With  sparkless  ashes  load  an  unlamented  urn." 

Dear  boy,  thou  wert  such  a  mixture  of  man,  woman 
and  child  that  we  all  loved  thee,  nor  now  love  thee  less.  We 
say  not,  "Rest  in  peace,"  for  such  a  spirit  as  thine  cannot 
rest,  neither  here  nor  there,  but  ever  must  it  search  for 
Truth,  Beauty,  Duty — God.  Call  to  us  out  of  those 
Mysterious  Depths  and  teach  us  by  our  memory  of  thee  so 
to  blend  the  man,  woman  and  child  in  us  that  our  spirits 
may  be  even  as  thine. 

We  leave  this  flower  upon  thy  new-made  grave — to- 
morrow it  shall  wither — and  turn  us  to  our  tasks,  cheered 
by  our  memory  of  thee,  and  with  a  greater  confidence  in  the 
Unseen,  because  thou  art  there. 


Memorial  Services  83 

Memorial  Service  Held  in  Potomac,  Va.,  Aug.  4,  1 907 

MS.  MCNIEI/S  FIRST  PASTORATE. 

By  Mrs.  Annie  H.  Grigsby. 

The  morning  and  afternoon  services  of  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Potomac,  Va.,  on  Sunday,  August  4,  were 
devoted  to  a  memorial  service  in  honor  of  him  who 
for  four  and  one-half  years,  January  1895-August  1899, 
was  its  pastor. 

The  sincere  regard  in  which  Mr.  McNiel  was  held 
by  the  members  of  this  church,  was  evidenced  by  the  large 
attendance  at  both  services. 

His  pastorate  began  while  he  was  a  student  at  Rich- 
mond College  and  was  characterized  by  the  faithfulness 
and  devotion  that  made  his  comparatively  brief  life  so  full 
of  useful  and  blessed  service  to  his  fellows. 

The  exercises  were  presided  over  by  Deacon  William 
J.  Rogers,  and  were  unusually  interesting  and  appropriate. 

Dr.  Charles  J.  Ladson,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  a  devoted 
friend  of  Mr.  McNiel's,  made  an  address  on  "Mr.  McNiel 
as  a  Man ;"  Mr.  W.  J.  Rogers,  "Mr.  McNiel  as  a  Minister," 
and  Rev.  H.  H.  Fones,  pastor  of  the  Hanover  Baptist 
Church,  "Mr.  McNiel  as  an  Evangelist." 

A  sermon  appropriate  to  the  occasion  was  preached  by 
Rev.  R.  S.  Mpnds,  pastor  of  churches  on  the  Eastern  shore, 
who  was  a  close  friend  of  Mr.  McNiel,  both  having  been 
ordained  to  the  ministry  at  the  same  time  and  with  the 
same  service. 

The  exercises  were  interspersed  with  beautiful  music, 
favorite  pieces  of  Mr.  McNiel's,  including  a  trio,  "Far 
Away,"  by  Dr.  C.  J.  Ladson,  Mrs.  C.  J.  Ladson,  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  and  Miss  Louise  Rogers,  King  George.  A 
solo,  "Jesus  Lover  of  My  Soul,"  by  Miss  E.  Pearle  Grigsby, 
of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  solo,  "Only  a  Dream,"  Dr.  C.  J. 
Ladson;  a  duet,  "Forever  With  the  Lord,"  by  Misses  E. 
Pearle  and  Mabel  Grigsby;  solos,  "Cast  Thy  Bread  upon 


84  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

the  Waters/'  and  "Sometime  We'll  Understand,"  by  Mrs. 
Daisy  Coakley  Staples,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  a  solo, 
"One  Sweetly  Solemn  Thought,"  by  Mrs.  Annie  E.  Grigsby, 
of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Resolutions  adopted  by  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Albuquerque,  N.  M.,  of  which  Mr.  McNiel  was  pastor  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  were  read  by  Mrs.  Grigsby,  at  the 
morning  service,  and  resolutions  were  also  presented  and 
adopted,  expressing  the  affectionate  remembrance  in  which 
he  is  held  by  the  members  of  The  Potomac  Baptist  Church 
and  the  people  of  this  community  in  general. 

Mr.  McNiel's  four  and  one-half  years  of  service  made 
an  abiding  impression  on  the  life  of  the  Potomac  church 
and  it  is  perhaps  more  than  a  coincidence  that  this  service 
in  which  the  church  testified  her  love  for  him,  was  followed 
by  one  of  the  most  successful  meetings  in  her  history, 
thirty-four  having:  been  received  by  baptism  and  four  by 
restoration ;  thus,  "He  being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 

Resolutions  presented  and  adopted: 

WHEREAS,  On  March  6,  1907,  in  Albuquerque,  N.  M., 
our  beloved  brother  and  former  pastor,  Rev.  J.  W.  T. 
McNiel,  was  called  to  his  reward  in  heaven ;  and 

WHEREAS,  For  four  and  one-half  years  he  so  faithfully 
and  efficiently  served  us  as  pastor  and  by  his  consecrated 
life,  soul  stirring  sermons  and  genial  companionship  did  so 
much  to  build  up  our  church  and  community ;  and 

WHEREAS,  We  wish  to  give  some  public  expression  to 
the  feelings  of  our  hearts ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved — 1.  That  while  we  do  not  understand  why 
one  so  young,  so  useful  and  promising  should  be  taken  away 
in  the  beginning  of  his  work,  yet  we  acknowledge  with  pro- 
found reverence  the  supremacy,  wisdom  and  love  of  our 
God  and  meekly  bow  to  His  will ;  we  are  assured  that  there 
are  wise  purposes  underlying  this  divine  act  and  are  com- 
forted with  the  thought,  that  our  loss  is  the  blessed  gain  of 
our  deceased  friend; 

Resolved— 2.     That  in  the  death  of  Brother  McNiel, 


Memorial  Services  85 


his  family  lose  a  loved  one,  of  which  they  were  justly  proud 
and  over  whose  silent  grave  they  have  cause  to  shed  their 
tears;  the  cause  of  Christ  in  general  loses  a  minister,  who 
loved  the  message  God  gave  him  for  a  dying  world  and 
who,  in  every  trust  divinely  committed,  was  ever  true;  he 
possessed  strong  faith  in  God,  he  was  sincere  in  his  devo- 
tions and  ever  ardent  in  his  efforts  to  reach  men's  hearts 
and  win  them  for  his  Lord ;  he  was  richly  endowed  for  his 
work  and  in  a  very  special  sense  was  he  fitted  for  evangel- 
istic work  in  which  he  so  greatly  delighted  and  was  wonder- 
fully successful.  While  his  active  life  was  very  short, 
covering  as  it  did  a  period  of  not  more  than  twelve  years, 
yet  scores  of  precious  souls  were  led  to  the  cross  through 
his  earnest  work  and  many  stars  added  to  his  heavenly 
crown;  this  church  in  particular  keenly  feels  his  loss,  for 
it  was  here,  the  first  and  most  of  his  service  as  a  minister 
was  rendered ;  we  learned  to  love  him  for  his  work's  sake 
as  well  as  for  his  own ;  our  hearts  loved  to  nestle  beside 
his  loving  heart;  he  led  us  all  to  higher  ideals,  loftier 
purposes  and  holier  ambitions;  his  work  in  our  midst  will 
never  die  and  his  memory  is  enshrined  in  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  us  all;  heaven  has  an  added  charm,  since  he  is 
there ; 

Resolved — 3.  That  we  do  hereby  extend  our  heartfelt 
sympathy  to  each  and  all  of  his  dear  relatives,  with  whom 
he  was  such  a  favorite  and  whose  hearts  are  almost  broken 
at  the  thought  of  his  departure;  we  pledge  to  them  our 
earnest  prayer,  that  the  God  who  filled  the  soul  and  life 
of  their  dear  one  with  joy  while  he  lived,  may  soothe  their 
aching  hearts  as  they  pass  through  the  shadows  of  earth's 
journey.  May  they  be  guarded  and  guided  until  the  end 
and  then  rest  with  their  precious  loved  ones  beneath  the 
shade  of  heaven's  trees  forever  at  home ; 

Resolved — 4.  That  these  resolutions  be  made  a  part  of 
the  records  of  The  Potomac  Baptist  Church,  a  copy  sent  to 
the  bereaved  family  of  our  brother  and  copies  furnished  The 
Religious  Herald  and  The  Free  Lance  for  publication. 


I  am  a  stranger  here,  within  a  foreign  land, 
My  home  is  far  away,  upon  a  golden  strand ; 
Ambassador  to  be  of  realms  beyond  the  sea, 
Fm  here  on  business  for  my  King. 

This  is  the  King's  command,  that  all  men  ev'rywhere, 
Repent  and  turn  away,  from  sin's  seductive  snare; 
That  all  who  will  obey,  with  Him  shall  reign  for  aye, 
And  that's  my  business  for  my  King. 

My  home  is  brighter  far  than  Sharon's  rosy  plain, 
Eternal  life  and  joy  thro'out  its  vast  domain ; 
My  sov'reign  bids  me  tell  how  mortals  there  may  dwell, 
And  that's  my  business  for  my  King. 

This  is  the  message  that  I  bring, 

A  message  angels  fair  would  sing; 

"Oh,  be  ye  reconciled,"  thus  saith  my  Lord  and  King, 

"Oh,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God." 


IX 

SERMONS 


"Teach  us  the  lesson  of  his  life, 

The  secret  of  his  power 
To  scatter  light  and  sunshine 

When  threatening  storm-clouds  lower ; 
To  sympathize  with  sorrow's  tears, 

To  greet  with  joy  the  glad, 
To  carry  hope  to  fainting  hearts 

And  comfort  to  the  sad.'1' 


IX 
SERMONS 


Christians  of  Today  Need  the  Courage  of  Paul 

Text:  Romans  1:8-17.  Paul  has  about  completed  his 
work  in  the  east,  and  consequently  begins  to  turn  his  face 
toward  the  west.  Being,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  the  apostle 
to  the  Gentiles,  he  desires  to  stand  within  the  gates  of 
Rome,  the  proud  mistress  of  the  world,  and  there  preach 
the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  But  this  desire  could  not 
be  realized,  for  he  must  first  go  to  Jerusalem  to  bear  to 
the  needy  Christians  there  a  contribution  from  the  Gentile 
Christians  of  Galatia,  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  and  thus  bind 
together  by  bonds  of  love  and  gratitude  the  two  great  divi- 
sions of  the  church  and  avert  a  schism  of  the  body  of  Christ. 
This  trip  to  Jerusalem  will  necessitate  a  considerable  delay 
in  getting  to  Rome,  for,  even  if  he  has  a  prosperous  journey, 
he  will  consume  considerable  time  £n  going  from  Corinth, 
where  he  now  is,  to  Jerusalem  and  back  to  Rome.  But, 
in  the  meantime,  he  wishes  to  assure  his  Roman  brothers 
of  his  desire  to  come  to  them,  and  also  to  fortify  their 
faith  against  the  doctrine  of  the  Judaizers,  who  may  come 
at  any  time  and  lead  them  from  the  true  faith.  Therefore, 
Paul  writes  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  very  heart  of 
which  is  a  comprehensive  description  of  righteousness  apart 
from  works  of  law  and  available  through  faith  for  both 
Jew  and  Gentile.  But  Paul  does  not  purpose  to  make  his 
letter  a  permanent  substitute  for  a  personal  visit,  for  his 
heart  is  still  set  upon  eventually  preaching  Christ  to  those 
also  that  are  in  Roire.  This  desire  is  shown  by  his  attitude 
toward  the  brethren  at  Rome.  He  is  thankful  for  the 
faith  of  the  Roman  Christians  and  prays  that  he  may  be 
prospered  by  the  will  of  God  to  come  unto  them. 

He  doubtless  felt  keenly  the  trying  circumstances  under 


90  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

which  Christians  were  laboring  in  that  wicked  and  idolatrous 
city.  We  labor  today  under  such  favorable  circumstances 
that  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  what  suffering  and  what 
hardships  and  what  self-sacrifices  were  involved  in  con- 
fessing the  name  of  Jesus.  They  were  confronted  daily 
with  trials  and  sufferings,  and  quite  well  did  Paul  know 
that  those  were  times  which  tried  the  very  souls  of  men. 
His  heart,  therefore,  went  out  to  them  in  sympathy  and 
love,  and  he  longed  to  see  them  and  impart  unto  them  some 
spiritual  gift  that  they  might  be  thoroughly  grounded  in 
the  faith  and  be  strengthened  for  the  noble  work  of  living 
and  laboring  for  God. 

Rome,  moreover,  was  a  strategic  point.  To  establish 
the  work  in  Rome  meant  much  for  the  Gospel  and  for  the 
world.  As1  all  roads  led  to  Rome,  so  all  roads  led  from 
Rome.  To  establish  firmly  the  Gospel  in  Rome  meant  to 
send  the  message  of  salvation  through  every  channel  and 
avenue  of  the  great  empire,  just  as  blood  is  sent  out  from 
the  heart  into  every  artery  and  vein  of  the  human  body. 

But,  in  thinking  of  his  going  to  Rome,  the  apostle's 
love  flows  even  more  freely  when  he  touches  upon  his  great 
obligation.  First,  he  was  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all  men. 
"I  am  debtor  both  to  Greeks  and  to  barbarians,  both  to  the 
wise  and  to  the  foolish."  God  had  given  him  a  world-wide 
message  of  love,  and  he  could  not  rest  until  he  .had,  to  the 
fullest  measure  of  his  ability,  proclaimed  it  to  all  classes 
and  conditions  of  men.  Reflection  upon  this  obligation 
warms  his  great  heart,  and  defiance  to  all  the  satanic 
powers  of  wicked  Rome  flashed  from  his  eyes  as  he  thought 
of  standing  within  her  gates  to  discharge  the  duty  that 
had  been  divinely  laid  upon  him  on  that  eventful  day  of 
his  journey  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus.  He  has  come 
face  to  face  with  the  world's  Redeemer,  and  his  theological 
system  has  been  turned  upside  down.  Instead  of  narrow, 
bigoted  Pharisaism,  he  has  a  world-wide  salvation  to  pro- 
claim ;  instead  of  thinking  of  the  Gentile  as  unworthy  to 
be  classed  with  the  highly  exalted  Jew,  he  recognizes  in 
him  a  brother.  The  great  truth  of  the  universal  brother- 


Sermons  91 


hood  of  man  has  been  learned  from  the  awful  tragedy  of 
Calvary,  where  Jesus  tasted  death  for  every  man.  He  sees 
that  there  is  now  in  the  eyes  of  God  no  difference  between 
the  Jew  and  the  Greek,  for  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich 
unto  all  that  call  upon  Him.  He  recognizes  that  the  human 
soul  is  loved  by  Christ  and  should  be  sought  by  every  faith- 
ful servant  of  God,  regardless  of  the  name  it  wears,  the 
flesh  that  embodies  it,  or  the  nation  that  claims  it.  Paul 
has  seen  that  the  Son  of  Man  rises  above  the  parentage, 
the  blood,  the  narrow  horizon  which  bounded,  as  it  seemed, 
His  human  life ;  He  is  the  archetypal  man  in  whose  presence 
distinctions  of  race,  intervals  of  ages,  types  of  civilizations, 
degrees  of  mental  culture,  are  as  nothing.  Paul's  own  soul 
had  found  in  Jesus  the  healing  fountain,  the  purifying 
water,  the  saving  grace  of  God,  and  he  was  rejoicing  in 
the  exalted  privilege  of  pointing  earth's  burdened  and  weary 
hearts  to  this  everlasting  remedy.  He  had  been  placed 
upon  the  walls  of  Zion  as  a  sentinel  to  sound  the  signal 
of  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  and  he  would  not  prove 
recreant  in  the  face  of  duty. 

Even  so,  you  and  I,  who,  as  we  trust,  have  been  saved 
by  the  grace  of  God,  and  have  had  committed  to  our  keeping 
the  message  of  life,  are  bound  by  all  that  is  good  and  true 
and  sacred  to  tell  troubled  hearts  that  there  is  peace;  to 
tell  the  sin-sick  soul  that  there  is  a  Great  Physician ;  to  tell 
those  who  are  in  spiritual  darkness  that  there  is  light ;  to  tell 
those  who  are  bound  and  imprisoned  by  sin  that  the  Lord 
looseth  the  prisoners.  Shall  not  our  hearts  fill  with  trans- 
porting joy  and  our  feet  quicken  their  steps  as  we  hasten 
to  meet  our  divinely-appointed  obligation  to  men  ? 

Are  you  ready  to  pay  this  debt?  Paul  was  ready  to 
respond  to  the  call  of  duty.  "So  as  much  as  in  me  is,  I 
am  ready  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  you  also  that  are  in 
Rome."  He  was  waiting  and  praying  for  the  opportunity 
to  lengthen  the  cords  and  strengthen  the  stakes.  How  is 
it  with  you?  Are  you  ready  for  the  command  to  march? 
If  your  country  needed  you  today,  you  would  be  ready  to 
march  into  the  very  jaws  of  death  to  save  your  flag  from 


92  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

disgrace  and  your  native  land  from  humiliation.  But  God 
calls  us  to  a  greater  service  than  bearing  arms  in  earthly 
combat.  Our  brothers  are  perishing  in  their  sins,  and  the 
Divine  voice  comes  to  us,  saying,  "Whom  shall  I  send  and 
who  will  go  for  us  ?"  The  true  heart  and  loyal  sends  back 
the  response,  "Here  am  I ;  send  me." 

"It  may  not  be  on  the  mountain's  height, 

Or  over  the  stormy  sea ; 
It  may  not  be  at  the  battle's  front, 

My  Lord  will  have  need  of  me. 
But  if,  by  a  still,  small  voice  He  calls 

To  paths  I  do  not  know, 
I'll  answer,  dear  Lord,  with  my  hand  in  Thine 

'I'll  go  where  You  want  me  to  go.' ': 

Having  declared  his  readiness  to  go,  the  apostle  turns 
to  the  consideration  of  his  great  message.  He  is  no  sound- 
ing brass  or  tinkling  cymbal,  for  he  has  a  living,  powerful 
message  of  Divine  love  that  has  come  to  him  from,  the 
great  compassionate  heart  of  God,  and  has  penetrated  the 
deepest  recesses  of  his  soul.  In  this  message  he  glories. 
When  he  says,  "For  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,"  he  does  not  mean  only  that  he  is  not  ashamed  ot 
the  Gospel,  for  his  chief  delight  and  highest  glory  was  in 
his  message.  His  declaration  here  is,  in  its  real  significance, 
very  similar  to  that  of  Gal.  6:14 — "God  forbid  that  I  should 
glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom 
the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world."  Christ 
was  his  message — Christ,  who  is  the  brightness  of  the  glory 
and  the  express  image  of  the  Father — Christ,  who  bore  our 
sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree,  who  died  like  a  god, 
rose  triumphant  over  death,  and  returned  to  the  Father,  who 
"made  him  to  sit  at  his  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places, 
far  above  all  rule,  and  authority,  and  power,  and  dominion, 
and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but 
also  in  that  which  is  to  come ;  and  he  put  all  things  in  sub- 
jection under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  head  over  all 


Sermons  93 

things  to  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fullness  of  him 
that  filleth  all  in  all."  Such  a  Saviour  is  worthy  of  the 
adoration  of  every  heart.  The  Greeks  gloried  in  their  strong 
and  flexible  language,  which  has  been  for  ages  the  admira- 
tion of  the  human  race ;  they  gloried  in  their  profound  phil- 
osophy, which  exhibits  some  of  the  most  clear-sighted  rea- 
soning the  world  has  ever  produced;  they  gloried  in  their 
exquisitely  beautiful  paintings  and  sculpture,  which  perhaps 
may  never  be  equaled.  The  Romans  gloried  in  their  im- 
perial power  in  arms,  their  invincible  Caesars,  their  match- 
less city,  the  proud,  defiant  mistress  of  the  world,  with  her 
spacious  theatres,  magnificent  palaces,  and  temples  gilded 
with  pure  gold.  But  all  these,  in  the  mind  of  Paul,  became 
as  nothing  in  the  presence  of  God's  greatest  gift  to  men. 
We  have  a  Saviour  in  whom  we  can  glory.  May  no  earth- 
born  cloud  dim  our  vision  of  God  in  Christ.  When  all 
earthly  glory  has  faded  as  the  autumn  leaf  in  the  silent 
grove,  and  earth  has  been  rolled  back  as  a  scroll,  Christ 
will  still  live  and  reign  as  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords. 

"In  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory, 

Towering  o'er  the  wrecks  of  time; 
All  the  light  of  sacred  story 

Gathers  'round  its  head  sublime." 

Paul  saw  also  that  his  message  was  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth;  to  the  Jew  first, 
and  also  to  the  Greek.  You  that  have  trusted  your  all  to 
Jesus  have  found  the  truth  that  is  spoken  of  here.  You 
can  testify  to  the  power  of  the  Gospel  to  save  men  from 
sin.  You  have  many  a  time  lifted  your  heart  to  God  and 
exclaimed,  "Oh,  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor,  daily  I'm  con- 
strained to  be."  You  have  doubtless  thought  how  strange 
that  Christ  should  take  your  sinful  heart,  purify  it,  and  lift 
you  into  holy  fellowship  with  the  Father.  It  is  because  the 
Gospel  is  the  power  of  God. 

When  Jesus  began  His  ministry  of  love  and  mercy, 
the  Jew  was  weighted  down  by  rabbinical  legislation.  The 


94  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

Greek  philosophy  had  proved  its  own  weakness  in  the  pres- 
ence of  sin.  It  had  no  life  for  the  dead  heart,  no  comfort 
for  the  troubled  soul,  no  power  to  forgive  sin.  The  Romans 
were  losing  confidence  in  their  gods.  They  did  not  find 
them  "a  very  present  help  in  time  of  need."  These  gods 
had  no  message  for  the  sin-burdened  soul.  How  different 
from  all  these  was  the  message  which  Paul  had  for  the 
Romans.  "For  the  word  of  God  is  living  and  active,  and 
sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword."  If  we  are  to  save 
men,  we  must  lay  hold  upon  this  powerful  message  and 
preach  it  to  men.  This  message  alone  can  bind  up  the 
broken-hearted,  give  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening 
of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound.  It  is  the  power  of 
Heaven  come  down  to  earth. 

Again,  Paul  observed  that  in  his  message  is  revealed 
a  righteousness  of  God  from  faith  to  faith.  He  declares 
it  boldly :  "For  therein  is  revealed  a  righteousness  of  God 
from  faith  to  faith."  Then  he  quotes  from  the  prophet 
Habakkuk,  "as  it  is  written,  but  the  righteous  shall  live 
by  faith."  The  word  righteousness  is  used  by  Paul  in  this 
letter  to  mean  God's  way  or  plan  of  accepting  men.  Hence, 
he  desires  to  come. to  the  people  with  a  message  that  reveals 
God's  wray  of  receiving  men  into  holy  fellowship  with 
Himself. 

What  message  could  possibly  be  of  greater  moment? 
It  is  a  message  that  stays  man's  heart  upon  God  and  trans- 
fers his  affections  from  earth  to  heaven.  It  was  the  poet 
Blair,  1  think,  who  said : 

"Some   angel  guide  my  pencil  while   I   draw 
What  nothing  less  than  angel  can  exceed, 
A  man  on  earth  devoted  to  the  skies." 

But,  mark  you,  this  righteousness  is  revealed  from  faith 
to  faith,  or  out  of  faith  into  faith.  This  means  that  the 
Christian  life  begins  with  faith  to  Christ;  it  is  continued 
and  strengthened  by  faith  in  Christ,  and  it  is  completed— 
gloriously  completed — by  faith  in  Christ. 


Sermons  95 


Character  Must  Be  a  Personal  Achievement 

Text:  Matt.  25  :9— "But  the  wise  answered,  saying: 
'Peradventure  there  will  not  be  enough  for  us  and  you ;  go 
ye  rather  to  them  that  sell,  and  buy  for  yourselves.' '; 

In  this  parable  of  the  wise  and  foolish  virgins,  Jesus 
gives  a  dramatic  story  of  an  eastern  wedding,  with  its  sud- 
den midnight  cry,  its  sense  of  surprise,  its  shut  door  of 
opportunity.  He  vividly  describes  the  bitter  grief  and  the 
deep  disappointment  of  those  who  had  professed  and  long 
appeared  to  be  His  friends,  now  encountering  the  closed 
door  and  the  solemn  voice  of  refusal.  He  thus  forcefully 
points  out  the  supreme  necessity  of  preparing  for  all  moral 
crises.  What  Jesus  tells  to  the  ear  by  this  impressive  story, 
the  sculptor  Renaldi  shows  to  the  eye  in  his  famous  statue, 
"The  Moment,  One  and  Infinite."  It  is  the  moment  of  a 
great  moral  crisis.  Browning  calls  it  "the  tick  of  one's  life- 
time." We  stand  amazed  when  we  contemplate  the  power 
of  critical  moments  to  settle  destinies  of  individuals  and 
nations.  This  has  been  a  favorite  theme  with  the  moralist 
and  the  student  of  human  life.  Such  moments  are  turning 
points  in  human  life  and  human  history,  and  not  infre- 
quently are  big  with  consequences.  Failure  to  measure  up 
to  such  emergencies  shuts  doors  that  sometimes  can  never 
be  opened  again.  Lord  Tennyson  was  contemplating  this 
tragic  fact  of  life,  as  taught  in  the  story  of  the  virgins, 
when  he  applied  it  to  Queen  Guinevere  in  her  effort  to 
reopen  a  closed  door : 

Late,  late,  so  late!  and  dark  the  night  and  chill! 

Late,  late,  so  late!  but  we  can  enter  still. 

"Too  late,  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now!" 

No  light  had  we ;  for  that  we  do  repent ; 

And  learning  this,  the  bridegroom  will  relent. 

"Too  late,  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now!" 

No  light ;  so  late !  and  dark  the  night  and  chill ; 

O  let  us  in,  that  we  may  find  the  light ! 

"Too  late,  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now!" 


96  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 


Have  we  not  heard  the  bridegroom  is  so  sweet? 
O  let  us  in,  though  late,  to  kiss  his  feet ! 
"No,  no;  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now." 

Life  is  serious  because  tragic.  We  know  not  when  the 
clock  may  strike  the  hour  in  which  a  single  act  may  decide 
the  future  and  happiness,  the  success  or  failure,  of  a  whole 
life.  Some  things  are  done  in  critical  hours  that  cannot 
be  undone,  and  leaving  undone  things  that  ought  to  be 
done,  frequently  incurs  irretrievable  and  irreparable  loss. 
The  trite  maxim,  "Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot,"  is  good 
advice  if  one  strikes  wisely.  Strike  at  the  opportune  time. 
Do  the  right  thing  at  the  critical  hour.  It  was  a  tremen- 
dously critical  moment  in  the  history  of  Rome  when  Julius 
Caesar,  the  pro-consul  of  Gaul,  took  the  law  in  his  own 
hands  and  daringly  crossed  the  little  River  Rubicon.  His 
own  destiny  and  that  of  his  country  hung  upon  that  one 
event.  Hence,  as  men  have  read  of  this  turning  point  of 
his  history,  they  have  made  him  exclaim :  "The  enemy 
awaits  me;  the  opportunity  invites;  the  die  is  cast." 

But  for  one's  weal  or  woe,  one's  fortune  or  misfortune, 
to  hinge  on  the  action  of  a  single  hour,  does  not  seem  just ; 
indeed,  it  would  not  be  just.  All  we  have  said  is  true  only 
when  rightly  understood.  Critical  hours  determine  one's 
future  only  in  the  sense  that  they  reveal  one's  character. 
They  are  the  revelation  of  all  that  has  gone  before  and  of 
the  character  that  has  been  formed  in  previous  years.  There- 
fore, the  determining  factors  of  life  are  not,  after  all,  the 
crises,  but  rather  is  it  true  that  the  less  striking  and  perhaps 
unobserved  moments  and  events  of  life  decide  one's  fate 
and  fortune  forever.  The  critical  moment  in  the  life  of 
the  foolish  virgin,  as  seen  in  the  parable,  did  not  change 
her  condition,  but  only  revealed  it.  The  sudden  midnight 
cry,  "Behold  the  bridegroom !"  took  nothing  from  her  and 
decided  nothing  for  her,  except  what  was  already  decided 
by  her  previous  life,  but  it  did  bring  out  in  bold  relief 
the  awful  fact  that  she  had  nothing — no  oil,  no  character! 
Her  previous  life  had  made  this  moment  and  this  revela- 


Sermons  97 

tion  inevitable.  She  followed  the  wrong  path,  and  as  a 
matter  of  course  reached  the  wrong  destination.  How  hard 
it  is  for  us  to  realize,  beyond  all  doubt,  the  simple  truth 
that  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap ! 

In  times  of  peace  we  prepare  for  war.  In  ordinary 
and  normal  life  we  prepare  to  meet  extraordinary  and  ab- 
normal times.  The  tree  will  stand  the  test  of  the  storm, 
provided  in  former  and  calmer  days  it  has  struck  its 
roots  deeply  into  the  soil  and  thus  gained  strength  for  the 
testing  time.  To  the  thoughtless  and  careless  the  critical 
hour  may  seem  harsh  in  its  dealing  with  men,  but  it  is 
never  unjust.  It  never  makes  nor  unmakes  any  man;  it 
only  reveals  what  the  man  has  been  making  himself  during 
his  previous  years.  This  is  what  Wellington  meant  when 
he  said  that  the  battle  of  Waterloo  was  won  on  the  cricket 
field  at  Eton.  It  is  an  inescapable  law  of  the  moral  and 
spiritual  world  that  the  unworthy  are  by  their  own  act 
excluded  from  the  highest  achievements  when  life's  greatest 
moments  come.  Some  one  has  wisely  said :  "Man's  whole 
life  and  training  is  just  to  fit  him  to  do  the  right  thing 
at  the  critical  moment.  He  who  fails  at  this  juncture  fails 
not  because  he,  by  mere  accident,  took  the  wrong  path  or 
made  a  bad  guess,  or  lost  his  stake;  he  fails  because  he 
has  not  so  ordered  his  previous  life  that  he  might  instinct- 
ively do  the  right  thing  at  a  push."  The  apparently  good 
man  falls  with  a  crash,  and  his  friends  are  amazed  that  such 
a  man  should  fall  before  the  forces  of  evil.  But  if  all  the 
facts  of  the  case  were  known,  they  would  perhaps  see  that 
secretly  the  foundation  has  been  slipping  away  for  a  long 
time,  and  the  collapse  made  inevitable  by  his  previous  life. 
Another  man  makes  a  powerful  stroke  and  suddenly  be- 
comes a  hero,  but  the  energy  and  force  for  the  hour  have 
been  accumulating  for  many  years.  Man's  whole  life  and 
training  is  just  to  fit  him,  or  unfit  him,  to  do  the  right  thing 
at  the  critical  moment.  The  well-ordered  life  instinctively 
takes  the  right  course  at  the  right  time. 

But  the  great  and  impressive  point  of  the  story  of  the 
virgins — the  point  that  our  peerless  Teacher  would  write 


98  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

indelibly  upon  our  souls — is  that  character  is  a  personal 
achievement  and  is  by  no  means  transferable.  Immanuel 
Kant,  when  discussing  the  metaphysics  of  morality,  gave 
expression  to  a  world  of  truth  when  he  said:  "Nothing 
in  the  world,  or  even  outside  of  the  world,  can  possibly 
be  regarded  as  good  without  limitation  except  a  good  will." 
Kant,  furthermore,  rightly  identifies  will  with  what  we  call 
character.  And  just  as  the  directing  will  of  any  given 
individual  is  personal  and  untransferable,  so  it  is  with 
his  character.  We  may  give  others  our  money,  our  sym- 
pathy, our  love,  and  a  thousand  other  things,  but  in  no 
way  can  we  transfer  our  character  to  other  persons.  This 
is  one  of  man's  possessions  that  must  always  and  every- 
where be  personally  acquired.  We  may  help  the  unfortu- 
nate and  fallen  to  reform;  we  may  point  men  to  a  better 
life;  we  may  urge  the  wicked  and  godless  to  correct  their 
way ;  but  every  step  toward  moral  reform  and  a  good  char- 
acter must  be  made  by  the  individual  himself  whose  better- 
ment we  seek.  You  cannot  take  of  your  character  and 
confer  any  fractional  part  of  it  upon  the  characterless. 
Character  is  a  jewel  that  cannot  be  had  for  love  or  money. 
It  is  not  on  the  market.  If  you  would  have  character, 
then,  you  must  cultivate  it  for  yourself  in  the  garden  of 
your  own  heart.  Because  the  virgin  thought  she  might 
draw  on  the  resources  of  her  sister,  Jesus  calls  her  foolish. 
I  do  not  doubt  but  that  the  wise  virgin  desired  to  help  her 
foolish  sister,  but  it  was  impossible  to  grant  the  request, 
"Give  us  of  your  oil."  Renaldi's  beautiful  group,  which  has 
been  already  referred  to,  represents  the  foolish  virgin  mak- 
ing a  pathetic  entreaty  for  a  part  of  the  good  supply  of 
oil  possessed  by  the  wise  virgin,  while  the  latter  lifts  her 
hand  as  if  to  guard  her  treasure,  and  has  upon  her  face  a 
look  of  deep  sadness  as  she  refuses  her  sister's  request. 

A  New  England  essayist,  commenting  on  this  scene, 
said,  uShe  should  have  given  her  the  oil."  So  would  you 
and  I  say,  did  we  not  remember  that  in  both  the  parable 
and  the  statue  the  subject  is  character,  and  character  is 
not  transferable.  We  may  work  for  others,  think  for  others, 


Sermons 

and  pray  for  others,  but  we  cannot  be  good  for  others. 
If,  then,  you  would  possess  this  pearl  of  great  price — a 
character,  pure  and  beautiful — you  must  obtain  it  by  your 
own  seeking  and  by  your  own  endeavor.  It  is  not  the 
gift  of  heredity,  nor  of  environment,  nor  of  both  combined, 
but  it  is  the  flower  that  can  grow  and  blossom  only  within 
the  sacred  precincts  of  the  individual  soul.  When  it  blos- 
soms in  beauty  and  loveliness,  it  sheds  its  fragrance  every- 
where, yet  its  seat  of  empire  is  within,  and  not  without. 
Hence,  we  are  told,  "Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence,  for 
out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life."  But  I  have  not  told  you 
the  whole  truth,  and  lest  I  should  be  misunderstood  and 
you  go  away  depressed  instead  of  encouraged,  I  must  try 
to  make  plain  the  further  fact  that  while  the  good  man 
cannot  give  you  of  his  oil,  he  can,  in  many  ways,  help  you 
to  get  oil  for  yourself.  Therefore,  while  character  is  solely 
and  supremely  a  personal  achievement,  you  need  not  wage 
the  fight  against  the  forces  of  evil  simply  in  your  own 
strength  and  all  alone;  for  good  men  everywhere  extend  a 
helping  hand  and  offer  you  their  prayers,  their  sympathy, 
and  their  co-operation  in  the  noble  endeavor  to  move  on- 
ward and  upward  into  the  divine  likeness.  We  move  for- 
ward with  more  stately  tread  and  with  greater  hope  of 
victory  when  we  move  together.  Co-operation  is  as  replete 
with  significance  in  the  moral  as  in  the  commercial  or  po- 
litical world.  And  as  one  who  has  faith  in  mankind,  I  am 
glad  to  be  able  to  vouchsafe  to  every  earnest,  struggling 
soul  the  most  cordial  co-operation  of  those  who  stand  for 
the  best  in  life  and  who  aspire  to  rise  above  all  that  is 
unworthy  of  the  noblest  and  truest  man..  No,  you  need  not 
stand  alone.  A  mighty  host,  who  themselves  are  bearing 
arms  in  the  mighty  combat  with  evil,  invite  you  to  stand 
firmly  and  bravely  writh  them  in  their  united  endeavor  to 
gain  supremacy  over  all  of  earth's  satanic  powers.  This 
is  an  engagement  of  tremendous  magnitude,  and  you  can 
no  more  afford  to  stand  aloof  from  the  best  influences  and 
forces  of  life  than  you  can  afford  to  be  crushed  to  earth 
and  destroyed  forever  by  agents  of  evil  and  soulless  vam- 


100  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

pires.  But  you  do  not  have  to  stand  alone.  All  who  are 
worthy  of  your  respectful  consideration  will  help  you  in 
the  task  of  shaping  your  life  and  moulding  your  character 
after  the  highest  ideal.  And,  better  still,  you  will  receive 
help  from  our  good,  compassionate  heavenly  Father,  who 
"resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble."  In 
the  dying  words  of  our  great  teacher,  President  Harper, 
of  the  University  of  Chicago,  we  have  this  noble  testimony : 
"God  helps,  God  always  helps."  Would  that  these  words 
might  be  emblazoned  in  large  letters  across  the  sky,  so 
that  whoever  looks  upward  from  earth's  sins  and  sorrows 
might  learn  that  in  our  search  for  goodness  and  for  God, 
we  might  hear,  "God  helps,  God  always  helps."  God  speed 
you  on  and  give  you  victory. 


Sermons  101 


True  Greatness  as  Shown  in  the  Life  of  Jesus 

Text :  Matthew  12 :42— "Behold,  a  Greater  than  Solo- 
mon is  Here." 

Every  one  who  thinks  at  all  has  some  standard  of 
greatness,  and  by  that  standard  seeks  more  or  less  con- 
sciously to  fashion  his  own  life.  The  higher  the  standard, 
the  better  the  life.  How  unfortunate  that  so  many  of  our 
capable  young  people  are  satisfied  with  low  ideals.  In  our 
great  universities  there  can  be  found  hundreds,  of  young 
men  whose  hero  is  the  college  athlete  and  whose  highest 
ambition  is  to  excel  in  muscular  strength  and  physical  en- 
durance. Others,  however,  find  their  ideal  in  the  success- 
ful student,  and  their  ambition  is  to  be  scholarly,  cultured, 
and  well  equipped  for  life's  arduous  duties  and  important 
responsibilities.  In  nearly  every  walk  of  life  there  are 
found  those  whose  recognized  standard  of  greatness  con- 
sists of  making  the  most  elaborate  display  of  material  pos- 
sessions. These  always  vote  the  richest  man  the  greatest, 
for  they  estimate  a  man's  worth  to  the  world  by  what  he 
has  rather  than  what  he  is.  In  the  minds  of  others  the 
consummation  of  all  greatness  is  to  pass  freely  as  a  "society" 
man  or  woman,  and  hence  they  lend  every  energy  to  this 
one  end,  thinking  they  will  have  reached  the  pinnacle  of 
all  human  glory  and  human  achievement  when  once  they 
can  look  down  from  their  lofty  height  upon  earth's  common 
hordes  who  are  weak-minded  enough  to  give  some  atten- 
tion to  other  things.  But,  fortunately  for  the  human  race, 
those  who  possess  these  low  ideals  are  not  the  controlling 
factors  in  making  human  history  and  in  fixing  human 
destinies,  for  the  predominating  influences  of  today  emanate 
from  better  hearts  and  saner  minds.  Men  who  move  the 
world  in  its  upward  progress  are  those  whose  standard 
of  greatness  is  based  on  moral  worth.  He  who  has  some- 
thing with  which  to  ennoble  human  life  is  welcomed  by 
the  worthy  and  pronounced  great  by  those  who  are  capable 
of  judging.  The  man  who  is  universally  accounted  the 
world's  greatest  benefactor  possessed  absolutely  nothing  but 


102  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

moral  and  spiritual  worth.  "The  foxes  have  holes  and  the 
birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not 
where  to  lay  his  head."  And  yet  the  human  race  knows 
no  one  that  could  be  brought  even  afar  off  into  comparison 
with  Jesus,  and  it  was  He  who  taught  us,  saying,  "Let 
him  who  would  become  great  among  you  become  servant 
of  all." 

If  human  greatness  is  to  be  measured  by  personal 
service  and  moral  worth,  then  we  go  wrong  when  we  con- 
dition one's  greatness  on  parentage.  The  parents  of  Jesus 
are  known  to  us  only  because  of  the  greatness  of  their 
Son.  It  is  not  just  to  ostracize  any  child  because  of  the 
sins  of  his  parents;  neither  is  it  fair  to  discriminate  in 
favor  of  the  well-born.  Let  every  one  stand  or  fall  on 
his  own  merits.  Many  a  criminal  has  been  shielded  from 
the  punishment  of  the  law  simply  because  he  belonged  to  a 
good  family,  while  if  his  people  had  been  unknown  he 
would  have  received  punishment  to  the  full  extent  of  the 
law.  Our  false  standards  of  life  license  certain  classes 
to  revel  in  criminality  with  impunity.  But  we  are  fast 
approaching  the  day  when  we  shall  not  feel  ready  to  esti- 
mate the  worth  of  a  given  individual  when  we  have  care- 
fully sought  out  the  history  of  his  ancestors,  for  we  have 
already  learned  that  some  of  the  most  worthless  wretches 
that  tread  the  earth  are  sons  and  daughters  of  noble  parents. 
We  know,  too,  that  history's  greatest  names  have  sprung 
into  fame  regardless  of  ancestry.  People,  like  trees,  do 
not  start  great,  but  grow  great.  True  greatness  belongs 
to  the  soul  that  presses  to  the  front  independently  of  mere 
circumstance.  Time  was  when  worthless  souls  could  sub- 
sist on  their  family  names,  but  conditions  have  changed, 
and  he  who  leans  today  upon  the  ancestral  tree  and  waits 
in  ease  and  sloth  fulness  for  fame  and  fortune,  will  inevitably 
receive  his  just  reward. 

Furthermore,  Jesus  was  unmoved  by  outward  trap- 
pings which  the  world  loves  to  worship.  His  was  an  humble 
entrance  into  the  world,  not  marked  by  pomp  and  splendor 
such  as  earthly  kings  rejoiced  in.  No  room  in  the  inn, 


Sermons  1 03 

He  rests  in  the  manger  and  is  worshiped  there.  May  the 
time  hasten  when  our  judgments  shall  be  just,  our  ideals 
true,  our  valuations  fair,  for  then,  and  only  then,  shall 
we  recognize  true  greatness  wherever  it  may  exist,  and 
be  prepared  to  give  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due.  Well 
do  you  know,  my  friends,  that  many  a  great  soul  today  is 
hid  under  tattered  and  torn  garments.  Many  of  you  who 
hear  me  today  may  not  discover  their  virtues,  but  God 
knows  their  worth  and  makes  them  His  own.  You  re- 
member the  poet's  song: 

"Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene 

The  dark,  unfathomed  caves  of  ocean  bear ; 

Full  many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 

And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air." 

As  a  few  little  clouds  may  hide  from  our  vision  the  bright- 
ness and  beauty  of  the  midnight  stars,  so  it  may  happen 
that  an  inexpensive  robe  may  hide  from  the  world's  view 
that  beautiful  and  stately  soul  whom  to  know  is  to  wonder 
that  so  much  loveliness  and  worth  could  take  on  mortal 
shape.  He  who  measures  greatness  and  worth  by  outward 
show  and  material  things  proves  his  own  soul  to  be  blind 
and  covetous,  and  thereby  reveals  a  littleness  that  ought 
to  be  despised  and  a  meanness  of  thought  that  mars  the 
beauty  and  blights  the  flower  of  our  civilization.  No  one 
advocates  more  emphatically  than  I  the  sacred  obligation 
of  every  one  to  make  faithful  and  honest  endeavor  to  pro- 
vide well  for  temporal  needs,  but  I  do  say  that  he  who 
becomes  a  miser  and  gathers  and  uses  wealth  for  selfish 
ends,  whether  that  wealth  assume  the  form  of  money  or 
of  mental  training  and  intellectual  culture,  becomes  an 
object  to  be  despised  and  spurned  and  cursed.  What  the 
world  most  needs  today  is  not  money  to  buy  bread,  but  a 
powerful  moral  and  spiritual  uplift  to  make  better  men 
and  women.  When  our  characters  become  conformed  to 
the  Divine  likeness,  the  world  will  not  cry  for  bread  nor 
shiver  in  the  cold.  If  He  who  made  the  greatest  gift  and 


104  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

did  most  for  the  betterment  of  mankind  had  not  where  to 
lay  His  head,  then  our  usefulness  in  the  world  is  not 
conditioned  on  material  things,  but  rather  on  greatness 
of  soul  and  beauty  of  character.  You  yourselves  may  know 
of  men  who  possess  thousands  in  silver  and  gold,  while 
in  reality  they  are  not  worth  to  the!  world  their  room  in 
the  pauper's  cemetery.  Material  wealth  is  a  great  blessing 
when  wisely  used,  but  even  then  it  is  not  the  only  blessing 
worthy  of  our  honest  seeking.  Poverty  is  no  virtue  and 
is  no  guarantee  of  a  passport  to  glory,  and  surely  no  one 
could  be  foolish  enough  to  advocate  poverty  for  poverty's 
sake.  My  only  contention  is  that  neither  poverty  nor  wealth 
conditions  one's  usefulness  to  the  world,  nor  is  either  a 
just  basis  on  which  to  estimate  one's  true  worth  to  mankind. 
Jesus'  worth  lay  in  His  moral  and  spiritual  worth,  His 
inner  life,  His  character,  and  out  of  this  sprang  His  deeds 
of  universal  and  lasting  blessing.  He  was  great  in  moral 
courage.  He  dared  to  do  His  duty,  to  speak  the  truth, 
commending  the  right,  condemning  the  wrong.  Although 
the  path  of  duty  and  truth  led  by  way  of  Gethsemane  and 
Calvary,  He  nevertheless  walked  it  with  stately  tread  and 
unfaltering  courage.  From  His  baptism  to  His  death  He 
never  once  courted  the  favor  of  evil  or  proved  recreant 
in  the  face  of  duty.  What  man  among  you  can  compromise 
with  sin  without  losing  self-respect?  The  consciousness 
of  manhood  must  be  maintained  at  all  hazards,  and  you 
who  cavil  at  the  truth  and  tamper  with  moral  values  will 
soon  count  yourselves  moral  imbeciles  and  spiritual  para- 
sites. 

The  highest  type  of  courage  is  moral  courage.  Many 
a  man  who  would  stake  his  life  in  deadly  combat  in  defense 
of  home  and  country  would  prove  a  coward  in  a  moral 
crisis.  Many  a  man  who  would  give  his  life  for  his 
country's  liberty  would  not  lift  his  hand  to  free  his  native 
land  and  protect  his  home  from  the  curse  of  vice  and  the 
enslaving  forces  of  evil.  Our  need  today  is  not  physical 
courage  to  keep  the  other  man  from  encroaching  upon  our 
rights.  We  are  abundantly  blessed  with  that.  We  need 


Sermons  1 05 

rather  that  courage  which  will  impel  us  always  to  stand 
for  the  right  and  to  do  the  right,  a  courage  which  will 
inspire  us  to  welcome  righteousness  and  truth  in  every 
vocation  of  life.  The  business  man  who  will  deliberately 
lie  to  make  a  dollar  will  sell  his  character  for  the  same 
price.  He  may  prize  ever  so  much  his  reputation,  but  he 
has  no  regard  for  his  character.  You  put  a  price  upon 
your  own  soul  when  you  decide  to  do  wrong  for  material 
gain.  The  world  needs  more  men  of  stalwart  character 
and  great  moral  courage.  Jefferson  Davis  saved  the  day 
at  Buena  Vista  as  his  clarion  voice  rang  out  above  the  din 
of  battle :  "Steady,  Mississippians,  steady.  Cowards  to 
the  rear,  but  brave  men  to  the  front !"  In  the  struggle  for 
moral  achievement  and  moral  victories  let  the  cry  go  forth 
in  thundering  tones,  "Cowards  to  the  rear,  but  brave  men 
to  the  front." 

Another  element  in  the  greatness  of  Jesus'  moral  and 
spiritual  life  lay  in  the  fact  that  He  saw  things  in  their 
true  relation,  knew  how  to  value  each,  and  therefore  made 
the  kingdom  of  God  first  all  the  time.  He  knew  the  value 
of  things  temporal,  and  the  value  of  things  eternal.  The 
relative  value  of  each  He  states  in  the  solemn  question, 
"What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  own  soul  ?"  This  is  an  infinite  valuation  placed 
upon  the  human  life  or  soul.  The  fatal  error  of  many 
lies  in  the  fact  that  they  put  the  emphasis,  the  supreme 
valuation,  on  the  wrong  side  of  life.  When,  I  assert  that 
things  of  eternal  worth  ought  to  be  seriously  considered 
by  every  thoughtful  person,  I  am  not  dealing  with  pious 
platitudes  and  statements  that  ought  to  be  made  by  the 
minister  just  as  a  matter  of  course.  I  mean  that  sooner 
or  later  you  will  be  compelled  to  face  this  question,  and 
far  better  that  you  begin  right  and  act  today  the  part  of 
a  sensible  man.  It  is  hard  to  understand  why  an  intelligent 
being  will  struggle  almost  day  and  night  for  the  accumu- 
lation of  things  which  must  pass  away  in  a  few  fleeting 
days,  and  give  scarcely  a  thought  to  the  building  of  char- 
acter and  the  culture  of  the  soul — possessions  that  abide 


106  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

when  all  things  temporal  have  passed  from  us  forever. 
May  God  give  us  true  valuations,  high  ideals  and  eternal 
possessions. 

Notice  also  that  Jesus  trusted  God  fully  and  was  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  Divine  plan.  If  we  understand 
God's  purpose  regarding  the  human  race,  it  is  to  lead  men 
into  that  same  perfection  of  manhood  and  self-mastery 
which  was  so  clearly  manifested  in  the  person  of  Jesus. 
To  be  great,  we  must  fall  in  line  with  this  plan  and  make 
our  contribution,  be  it  ever  so  small,  to  the  betterment  of 
mankind.  Harmony  with  the  Divine  will  and  co-operation 
in  the  Divine  plan  is  the  keynote  to  the  truest  and  highest 
success.  This  requires  you  to  become  the  servant  of  all, 
but  it  is  the  highest  service  man  is  capable  of  rendering. 
By  giving  yourselves  diligently  to  this  most  royal  task,  you 
will  save  the  life  that  now  is  and  the  life  that  is  to  come. 
Its  requirements  are  great,  but  its  rewards  are  greater. 

Through  His  true  life  and  heroic  death,  Jesus  has 
become  the  world's  greatest  benefactor.  He  has  become 
the  King  of  countless  lives,  and  'is  fast  forging  His  way 
from  the  manger  in  Bethlehem  to  universal  dominion  when 
He  shall  be  crowned  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords. 
If  you  would  be  great,  follow  Hini  through  sacrifice  and 
service,  and  He  will  bring  you  at  last  to  share  His  triumph 
and  His  glory. 


Sermons  1 07 


Faith  Alone  Can  Bring  Knowledge  of  the  Almighty 

Text:  John  14:9 — "Have  I  been  so  long  time  with 
you,  and  dost  thou  not  know  me,  Philip?" 

Philip's  request,  "Lord,  show  us  the  Father  and  it 
sufficeth  us,"  was  evoked  by  Jesus'  words,  "From  hence- 
forth ye  know  him  and  have  seen  him." 

That  Jesus  was  the  revelation  of  the  Father,  was  the 
one  foremost  truth  of  His  life.  The  consciousness  of  this 
fact  had  grown  with  His  growth,  and  it  had  been  the  one 
proclamation  of  His  ministry.  So  intense  and  so  vivid 
was  this  truth  to  Him  that  He  thought  the  blind  and  deaf 
in  heart  might  see  and  hear  it.  And  now  one  of  his 
hearers  asks  a  question  which  suddenly  makes  Him  feel 
that  what  is  to  him  as  clear  and  bright  as  the  sun  in 
heaven  is  not  perceived  at  all.  What  wonder,  then,  that 
we  hear  in  His  question  a  note  of  sorrowful  surprise,  "Have 
I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  dost  thou  not  know  me, 
Philip?"  Philip  desired  some  physical  manifestation  of 
the  Divine  glory,  so  that  every  doubt  might  be  forever  ex- 
pelled. He  sought  some  such  scene  as  the  transfiguration 
on  the  mount,  when  before  Peter,  James  and  John,  our 
Lord  robed  Himself  in  splendor,  his  raiment  bright  as 
the  light,  and  His  face  shining  as  the  sun.  But  Jesus 
thought  His  disciples  might  discover  His  significance  with- 
out any  such  extraordinary  experience,  so  He  declares,  "He 
that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father."  Philip  had  en- 
joyed splendid  opportunities  for  finding  in  Christ  the  revela- 
tion of  God;  otherwise  Jesus  could  not  have  propounded 
this  question  of  sorrowful  surprise.  Philip's  association 
with  Jesus  was  enough  to  lead  the  Divine  Teacher  to  expect 
more  of  His  disciple.  On  many  occasions  it  had  doubtless 
been  his  privilege  to  witness  the  transforming  and  magic 
touch  of  Jesus  as  a  miracle-worker.  At  His  command,  souls 
were  released  from  the  dominion  of  demons,  disease  gave 
place  to  health,  and  cold  death  yielded  to  the  warm  pulsa- 
tions of  full  and  vigorous  life.  This  wonder-worker  was 


108  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

also  the  most  profound  and  heart-searching  Teacher  known 
to  human  history.  It  was  no  mean  privilege  to  sit  at  His 
feet  and  feast  the  soul  on  such  words  as  fell  from  His  lips. 
They  were  words  sweeter  than  honey,  radiantj  with  light 
and  instinct  with  life.  The  world  knows  no  one  whose 
grasp  of  truth  and  comprehension  of  life  can  be  brought 
even  afar  off  in  comparison  with  Jesus.  The  Greeks  were 
acknowledged  masters  in  art,  literature  and  philosophy. 
The  whole  of  philosophy  is  virtually  contained  in  the  works 
of  four  or  five  Greek  authors.  Other  men  have  explained 
and  illustrated,  but  have  added  next  to  nothing.  Emerson 
says  that  only  a  very  few  people  are  capable  of  understand- 
ing Plato.  Yet,  when  brought  into  comparison  with  Jesus, 
the  greatness  of  such  sages  and  philosophers  as  Socrates, 
Plato  and  Aristotle  grows  dim,  like  stars  before  the  bright- 
ness of  the  sun.  Jesus  was  like  one  standing  on,  a  high 
peak,  reporting  of  the  sunrise  to  men  in  the  dark  valley. 
They  heard  His  words,  but  they  saw  also  upon  His  counte- 
nance the  glow  of  dawn,  and  dazzling  all  about  Him  the 
incommunicable  splendors  of  a  new  day.  He  was  and 
still  is  the  Light  of  the  World,  and  to  Him  the  wisest  turn 
for  guidance  in  solving  the  problems  of  life. 

And  we  must  remember,  too,  that  Jesus  was  not  only 
Teacher,  but  Saviour  as  well.  For,  after  all,  the  greatest 
need  of  mankind  is  not  for  more  light,  but  for  more  power ; 
not  for  knowledge  to  discern  between  good  and  evil,  but 
for  deliverance  from  sin.  Jesus  not  only  teaches  the  right 
way,  but  gives  grace  to  walk  therein.  Human  nature  needs 
something  more  than  enlightenment ;  the  illumination  of 
the  horrible  pit  is  not  enough  to  effect  a  rescue.  Buddha 
and  Socrates  could  reveal  the  distressed  condition  of  hu- 
manity, but  they  could  not  stretch  out  the  arm  which  alone 
could  bring  Satan's  victim  out  and  set  him  upon  the  rock. 
Jesus  not  only  gives  a  correct  philosophy  of  life,  but,  what 
is  more  important,  He  gives  life  itself.  The  soul  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sin  has  its  sorest  need  unsatisfied  until  it 
has  received  the  vitalizing  touch  of  Him  whose  greatest 
title  is  "Savior  of  the  World."  Such  was  the  Man  with 


Sermons  1 09 

whom  Philip  had  communed  in  the  quiet  of  the  day  and 
stillness  of  the  night. 

After  all  this,  why  did  not  Philip  know  Jesus?  The 
explanation  is  probably  found  in  the  fact  that  the  light  was 
shut  out  by  preconceived  ideas  regarding  the  Messiah.  The 
shutters  of  the  windows  of  his  soul  were  closed — the  dark- 
ness shut  in,  the  light  shut  out.  If  we  would  find  the  real 
Christ,  and  in  Him  the  revelation  of  God,  we  must  ap- 
proach Him  without  the  blinding  trammels  of  preconceived 
and  warped  ideas. 

To  know  God  is  to  have  eternal  life.  Then  let  us 
consider  for  a  moment  the  important  question  as  to  how 
we  may  know  Him.  If  I  may  first  answer  negatively,  I 
would  say  that  this  knowledge  of  God,  which  issues  in 
eternal  life,  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  study  of  Nature.  To 
be  sure,  God  is  in  His  world,  and  he  who  already  knows 
Him  may  find  Him  everywhere. 

Every  blooming  flower,  every  rippling  stream,  every 
twinkling  star,  tells  us  that  God  is  in  His  world,  but  it 
is  only  the  believing  heart  that  can  interpret  Nature's  mes- 
sage and  read  in  her  beauty  and  perfection  the  glory  of  the 
Almighty.  It  is  not  the  eye  of  the  astronomer,  but  the  eye 
of  faith  that  sees  God  through  the  telescope.  Our  dis- 
covery of  God  is  not  made  by  aesthetic,  geological  or  as- 
tronomical research,  but  after  we  have  found  Him  some 
other  where,  all  nature  proclaims  His  presence  and  His 
praise — the  stars  "singing  as  they  shine  the  hand  that 
made  us  is  divine." 

And  what  we  say  of  nature  is  true  of  all  science. 
You  cannot  make  your  chemical  analysis  and  say,  "There- 
fore God  is."  No  science  can  ever  say,  "I  have  found 
beyond  all  question  the  living  God,"  for  religious  certitude 
is  not  the  product  of  scientific  investigation.  It  is  the  fruit 
of  another  field,  the  flower  of  another  garden.  Yet  every 
law  of  science  is  the  law  of  God,  and  God  is  in  all  true 
science  as  verily  as  He  is  in  all  true  religion.  Therefore, 
science  could  not  be  despised.  It  is  only  the  dilettante  who 
fears  that  science  will  take  away  his  Lord.  Such  knowledge 


110  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

can  neither  give  nor  take  away  the  God  whom  to  know 
aright  is  life  eternal. 

We  may  go  a  step  further  and  say  that  God  is  not 
found  solely  in  the  words  of  eternal  truth.  You  may  read 
the  Scriptures  all  your  life  and  listen  attentively  to  a  thou- 
sand Gospel  sermons,  and  then  not  know  Him.  Had  not 
Philip  sat  at  the  Master's  feet  and  heard  such  words  as 
mortal  lips  never  before  had  uttered?  And  still  Jesus  says 
to  him,  "Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  dost  thou 
not  know  me?"  That  God  was  in  the  ministry  of  His  Son, 
no  one  of  us  would  doubt;  but  we  may  hear  wonderful 
words  of  life  and  witness  deeds  of  mighty  power,  and  not 
be  brought  thereby  into  a  holy  fellowship  with  God.  We 
cannot  know  Him  simply  through  these  things.  The  beau- 
ties of  nature  are  aesthetic — we  admire.  Science  is  intel- 
lectualistic — we  reason.  Miracle  is  wonderful — we  stand 
amazed.  But  we  may  admire,  we  may  reason,  and  we 
may  stand  in  awe  before  the  deepest  mysteries  of  God, 
without  ever  being  able  to  feel  and  to  exclaim  with  the 
great  Augustine,  "Oh,  God !  Our  souls  are  made  for 
Thee,  and  our  hearts  will  be  restless  until  they  rest  in 
Thee." 

What  we  want  is  God,  and  my  contention  is  that  a 
revelation  of  Him  can  be  appropriated  only  through  re- 
ligious faith.  We  do  not  need  so  much  a  theory  about 
God,  but  communion  with  Him — our  heart  meeting  with 
His  heart,  our  wills  lost  in  His  will.  We  seek  not  a 
sovereign  seated  far  away  upon  a  distant  throne,  surveying 
with  majesty  the  subjects  of  his  rule,  but  we  seek  Him 
who  is  nearer  to  us  than  our  own  breathing;  whose  throne 
is  the  human  heart,  and  in  whom  we  live  and  move  and 
have  our  being.  To  know  Him  is  not  to  have  a  well-form- 
ulated, logical  theory  about  Him,  but  to  be  in  conscious 
communion  with  Him  as  the  Lord  of  your  life.  This,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  effected  by  two  steps.  First,  by  being 
associated  with  Jesus,  who  is  the  supreme  revelation  of 
God ;  and,  secondly,  by  surrendering  your  whole  life  to  the 
Lordship  of  the  Redeemer.  We  associate  with  Jesus  by 


Sermons  1 1 1 

following  Him  in  His  life  and  ministry  as  portrayed  in  the 
Gospel  stories.  We  listen  to  His  words,  we  behold  His 
deeds,  and  we  are  swayed  by  His  powerful  personality. 
When  brought  close  to  Him,  we  confess  with  Thomas, 
"My  Lord  and  my  God."  The  inner  spirit  of  Christ  masters 
us  and  calls  out  our  confident  faith  and  our  eager  submis- 
sion. But  this  association  is  effected  also,  and  perhaps 
more  largely,  by  contact  with  true  Christians  who  reflect 
and  reproduce  in  their  life  the  life  of  Jesus.  Many  a  time 
have  you  been  in  the  presence  of  some  sainted  soul  in  whom 
you  recognized  a  ruling  power  that  you  yourself  did  not 
possess.  He  who  lives  a  distorted  life  cannot  thus  influence 
you,  but  the  man  who  is  true  to  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  who  allows  the  spirit  of  Christ  to 
be  the  ruling  passion  of  his  soul,  does  bring  Christ  before 
you  in  such  a  light  that  you  must  see  Him,  whether  you  wish 
to  or  not.  Divine  revelation  appeals  to  the  will  of  man, 
and  God  is  found  only  when  the  will  surrenders  to  that 
revelation.  This  surrendering  and  yielding  of  one's  self 
to  the  will  of  God  is  the  exercise  of  that  Christian  faith 
which  brings  to  the  soul  of  man  a  vivid  and  blessed  con- 
sciousness of  God,  and  establishes  between  the  soul  and 
the  Infinite  a  divine  fellowship.  He  seeks  in  vain  who 
seeks  to  know  God  independently  of  doing  His  will;  but 
he  who  seeks  aright  will  surely  find,  and,  in  his  finding, 
will  be  blessed  forevermore.  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock;  if  any  man  hear  my  voice  and  open  the  door, 
1  will  come  in  and  sup  with  him  and  he  with  me." 


112  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

Public  Opinion 

Text,  Matthew  11 :18,  19:  "For  John  came  neither  eat- 
ing nor  drinking,  and  they  say,  He  hath  a  demon.  The  Son 
of  Man  came  eating  and  drinking,  and  they  say,  Behold  a 
gluttonous  man,  and  a  winebibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and 
sinners." 

When  John  the  Baptist  appeared  to  Israel  and  made  his 
voice  heard  from  the  wilderness,  the  stern  reality  of  his  life 
struck  all  imaginations.  His  proclamation  of  a  Deliverer 
who  should  at  once  subdue  all  hearts  and  lift  off  the  weight 
of  sin,  stirred  men  with  the  hope  of  peace,  and  all  classes 
streamed  into  the  desert  to  hear  his  message.  But  only  a 
few  remained;  the  rest  streamed  back  again,  untouched 
and  unmoved  by  the  fiery  words  of  the  fearless  prophet, 
who,  conscious  of  his  unique  mission,  was  unsparing  in  his 
denunciation  of  sin. 

The  voice  of  John  rang  out  the  old  and  rang  in  the  new. 
He  stood  upon  the  line  that  divided  two  great  religious 
epochs.  Israel  had  waited  long  for  their  deliverer,  and  now, 
at  last,  this  greatest  of  the  prophets  points  to  the  long- 
looked-for  Messiah,  the  Galilean  stranger,  and  says,  "Be- 
hold, the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world."  You  would  suppose  that  never  since  the  flaming 
sword  of  the  sentinel  angel  guarded  entrance  to  the  forbid- 
den Eden,  did  men  so  overflow  with  joy  and  strike  such  full 
notes  of  praise.  But  how  different  in  reality !  Instead  of 
hailing  their  king  with  shouts  of  hosannas,  they  begin  to 
point  out  petty  faults.  They  say  John  must  be  deranged ! 
They  reject  his  witness  to  Jesus  and  ridicule  his  mode  of 
life,  declaring  him  to  be  possessed  of  a  demon,  because  he 
came  neither  eating  nor  drinking.  On  the  other  hand,  Jesus 
lived  among  men,  eating  and  drinking  as  they  did.  He 
went  to  the  homes  of  Pharisee  and  publican,  of  scrupulous 
observers  of  the  law  and  open  transgressors  of  it,  and  shared 
their  customary  food  and  drink,  and  immediately  they  cried, 
"Behold  a  gluttonous  man,  a  winebibber,  a  friend  of  publi- 
cans and  sinners."  Because  he  ate  pleasant  food  like  others, 


Sermons  1 1 3 


with  no  special  abstemiousness,  they  called  him  a  glutton. 
Because  he  sometimes  drank  wine  as  others  did,  he  was  a 
winebibber.  Because  he  treated  bad  men  with  civility  and 
kindness,  earnestly  seeking  to  do  them  good,  he  himself 
also  was  bad.  So  they  talked.  John  was  not  enough  like 
other  people — a  crazy  sort  of  a  man.  Jesus  was  too  much 
like  other  people.  Poor  souls ;  nothing  could  please  them. 

Public  opinion,  in  this  instance,  was  glaringly  inconsist- 
ent and  grossly  unjust.  It  was  based  on  externals,  such  as 
food  and  dress,  and  therefore  was  a  very  superficial  thing. 
There  was  pure  gold  beneath  the  surface,  but  the  multitudes 
were  too  stupid  and  self-satisfied  to  give  more  than  a  casual 
glance.  They  were,  like  many  of  today,  in  a  frame  of 
mind  to  strain  at  a  gnat  and  swallow  a  camel,  and  this  they 
did  without  ever  suspecting  that  any  blame  could  thereby 
be  laid  at  their  own  door.  Little  did  they  dream  they  were 
condemning  a  man  who  in  after  years  would  be  called  the 
world's  chief  friend  and  benefactor,  and  who  would 
receive,  after  they  themselves  were  long  forgotten,  the 
highest  tributes  of  praise  the  human  heart  is  capable  of 
bestowing.  Many  a  great  soul  has  espoused  the  cause  of 
truth,  only  to  meet  with  persecutions  and  finally  death  at 
the  hands  of  his  own  generation,  and  wait  for  other  times 
to  justify  his  stand  and  other  hearts  to  sing  his  praise.  But 
"wisdom  is  justified  by  her  works,"  and  though  public 
approval  is  sometimes  centuries  behind  heroes  and  martyrs, 
yet  the  hour  of  vindication  comes  and  truth  triumphs  in 
the  end. 

On  February  17,  1900,  Rome  witnessed  a  concourse  of 
men  such  as  the  great  city  on  the  Tiber  has  rarely  ever 
seen.  But  this  time  the  crowd  had  not  gathered  to  greet 
a  triumphant  Caesar  at  the  head  of  his  victorious  legions, 
for  they  came  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  unveil  a  monu- 
ment in  memory  of  a  poor  wandering  knight  of  the  spirit 
who  three  centuries  before  on  the  same  spot,  had  closed 
his  tumultuous  and  checkered  life  on  a  pile  of  faggots.  And 
why  did  this  man,  Giordano  Bruno,  suffer  martyrdom  at 
the  hands  of  his  countrymen  ?  Because  he  lived  three  hun- 


114  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

dred  years  in  advance  of  the  multitudes  and  taught  the 
modern  conception  of  the  boundlessness  of  the  world.  It 
was  eminently  fitting  that  the  nineteenth  century,  just  be- 
fore closing  its  doors,  should  think  that  it  must  pay  this 
man  a  homage  so  pure  and  so  enthusiastic.  There  was 
prophecy  as  well  as  courage  in  the  bold  words  Bruno  flung 
in  the  face  of  his  judges,  "You  pronounce  the  sentence  with 
greater  fear  than  I  receive  it,  perhaps."  But  after  all,  such 
bravery  is  not  so  rare;  it  fills  the  breasts  of  countless  men 
and  women  whose  crosses  and  pyres  the  history  of  the 
world  passes  by  without  even  naming  their  names. 

Men  fall  into  two  great  classes,  the  fossilized  and  the 
progressive,  and  between  these  two  classes  the  conflict  rages. 
New  ideas  are  costly  things  to  cherish  and  espouse,  for  they 
require  sacrifice  and  suffering.  To  champion  the  new  means 
a  battle  with  those  who  are  intrenched  in  the  old  ideas,  and 
whose  varied  interests  are  bound  up  in  them.  It  means 
enemies  who  are  heartless  and  cruel — enemies  who  confess 
great  devotion  to  the  Christ  who  was  crucified  by  the  same 
spirit  they  manifest,  because  he  dared  to  introduce  revolu- 
tionary ideas  into  the  world.  Everyone  knows  how  Galileo 
was  treated  by  devout  ecclesiastics  of  his  day,  whose  minds 
were  fixed  in  error's  chains  and  shut  against  the  light.  But 
this  is  the  story  of  all  human  advance  in  all  ages.  Today 
the  progressive  man  is  not  tied  to  the  stake  and  his  body 
burned  to  ashes,  for  the  civil  law  does  not  allow  that,  but 
what  is  even  worse,  he  is  persecuted,  villified  and  hounded 
to  a  slow  and  agonizing  death.  Those  who  proclaim  loudest, 
"Give  us  religious  liberty  or  give  us  death,"  are  frequently 
among  the  first  to  stab  the  heart  of  a  brother  whose  theo- 
logical opinions  do  not  exactly  coincide  with  their  own.  One 
example  out  of  many  that  might  be  cited  will  suffice.  In 

1902,  Professor made  some  unusual  assertions  about 

miracles,  and  immediately  his  beloved  brethren  were  literally 
up  in  arms.  The  papers  gave  extensive  accounts  of  the 
meeting,  in  which  one  of  the  oldest  saints  in  the  Rock  River 
conference,  gave  vent  to  the  severest  vituperation  and  the 
most  fiery  denunciation  of  his  straying  brother.  With  one 


Sermons  1 1 5 

hand  uplifted  and  a  voice  trembling  with  emotion  the  patri- 
arch minister  passionately  arraigned  the  brother  of  his  faith, 
and  forgetting  the  grace  that  forgave  his  own  sins,  ex- 
claimed, "He  ought  to  be  skinned  and  his  hide  hung  upon 
the  barn  door  and  salted."  This  is  but  the  rage  of  the 
unthinking  multitudes  who  have  kindled  the  fires  through 
which  heroes  and  martyrs  have  had  to  pass  in  order  to  lead 
humanity  onward  and  upward  towards  the  boons  of  free- 
dom, light  and  life. 

Public  opinion  is  vacillating  and  hence  not  a  safe  guide 
for  the  seeker  after  truth.  Nearly  all  advance  in  religious 
knowledge,  from  the  days  of  the  first  prophets  of  Israel 
to  the  time  of  modern  biblical  criticism,  has  been  made 
through  the  crosses  and  fires  of  heartless  persecution.  Had 
moral  and  religious  reformers  guided  their  endeavors  by  the 
pulse  of  public  sentiment,  we  would  have  simply  marked 
time,  with  practically  no  progress,  through  all  these  cen- 
turies. But,  thank  God,  men  were  brave  enough  to  die  for 
their  convictions  and  let  their  death  stand  as  the  harbinger 
of  better  days.  Heroes  have  been  willing  to  perform  their 
tasks  in  the  light  of  their  own  conscience  and  wait  for  future 
generations  to  rise  up  and  call  them  blessed.  Men  of  tower- 
ing strength  and  great  moral  courage  have  stemmed  the 
tide  of  adverse  public  opinion,  remembering  that  the  multi- 
tudes will  praise  you  today  and  tomorrow  clamor  for  your 
death.  No  one  knew  the  vacillation  of  the  public  mind 
better  than  the  Man  of  Nazareth.  Today  they  cry,  "Behold, 
a  man  gluttonous,  and  a  winebibber,  a  friend  of  publicans 
and  sinners,"  and  tomorrow  they  come  to  him  from  every 
quarter  to  receive  the  blessings  of  his  ministry.  Now  they 
hang  upon  his  words  and  seem  to  appropriate  his  message, 
but  soon  he  offends  some  over-scrupulous  Pharisee  and  they 
seek  to  stone  him  to  death.  Now  he  rides  into  Jerusalem, 
the  Holy  City,  amid  shouts  of  hosannas  and  long  live  the 
King;  but  a  few  days  later  the  same  enthusiastic  mob  cried 
aloud,  "Away  with  him!  Crucify  him!"  And  they  led  him 
away  to  a  little  hill,  lone  and  gray,  and  there  they  crucified 
him  of  whom  the  great  historian  Rauke,  said :  "More  guilt- 


116  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

less  and  more  powerful,  more  exalted  and  more  holy  has 
naught  ever  been  on  earth  than  his  conduct,  his  life  and  his 
death."  No  wonder,  then,  that  this  man,  who  knew  human 
nature  as  no  other  man  knew  it,  said  to  his  disciples :  "Be- 
hold, I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves;  be 
ye  therefore  as  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves.  But 
beware  of  men;  for  they  will  deliver  you  up  to  councils, 
and  in  their  synagogues  they  will  scourge  you;  yea  and 
before  governors  and  kings  shall  ye  be  brought  for  my  sake, 
for  a  testimony  to  them  and  to  the  Gentiles." 

But  I  would  not  have  you  brethren  think  me  a  pessimist 
with  no  faith  in  human  kind.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe 
in  the  ultimate  integrity  of  the  human  race,  and  I  believe 
that  when  men  and  women  are  brought  to  see  the  truth  and 
feel  their  obligation,  they  will  take  up  their  tasks  with  hearts 
brave  and  true.  Therefore,  public  opinion  is  always  tre- 
mendously powerful  for  good,  when  in  the  right.  Great 
reforms  are  wrought  at  the  command  of  public  sentiment. 
To-day  many  men  in  high  places,  who  are  vested  with 
authority,  dare  to  lift  their  hand  in  enforcement  of  law 
and  in  defense  of  righteousness.  One  of  the  most  propitious 
signs  of  the  times  is  the  recent  and  present  crusades  against 
public  graft  and  unholy  impositions  upon  the  people,  along 
with  the  facts  that  the  men  leading  in  these  reforms  have 
the  approval  and  backing  of  the  general  public.  A  better 
day  is  coming.  The  people  are  going  to  rise  up  in  their 
sovereignty  and  demand  that  justice,  truth  and  righteous- 
ness be  enthroned  to  do  their  perfect  work.  This  day  will 
not  come,  however,  until  the  public  mind  is  still  better  edu- 
cated and  trained  on  these  vital  issues.  Therefore  it  behooves 
every  right  thinking  man  and  woman,  every  educational  in- 
stitution, the  public  press  and  the  pulpit  to  bend  every  energy 
to  enlist  the  sympathy  and  support  of  the  masses  in  stamping 
out  crime  and  ushering  in  a  better  day. 

But  however  powerful  public  sentiment  may  be,  it  can- 
not eventually  triumph  over  truth. 

"Truth  crushed  to  earth  will  rise  again, 
Th'  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers." 


Sermons  1 1 7 


John  the  Baptist  suffered  a  ghastly  death  at  the  hands 
of  a  cruel  foe,  but  the  truth  he  proclaimed  still  lives  and 
moves  on  to  final  victory.  Jesus  was  taken  by  the  midnight 
mob,  tried,  condemned  and  crucified  by  those  who  made  an 
impious  tool  of  law  and  a  mockery  of  justice,  nevertheless 
his  kingdom  moves  on  to  universal  dominion  with  the  state- 
liness  and  majesty  of  the  sun  in  his  unhindered  journey 
across  the  sky.  All  the  combined  forces  of  persecution  and 
instruments  of  torture  could  not  put  out  the  light  that 
emanates  from  the  life  of  Socrates.  Cicero  paid  him  a 
just  tribute  when  he  said,  "Socrates  called  philosophy  down 
from  the  heavens  to  earth,  and  introduced  it  into  the  cities 
and  houses  of  men,  compelling  men  to  inquire  concerning 
life  and  morals  and  things  good  and  evil."  Nevertheless  his 
countrymen  thought  him  better  dead  than  alive.  He  drank 
the  cup  of  poison  in  his  prison,  surrounded  by  his  disciples 
and  friends,  with  perfect  steadfastness  and  tranquility  of 
soul,  full  of  assurance  that  the  death  which  was  to  attest 
his  fidelity  to  his  convictions  would  be  most  advantageous 
for  him  and  his  work. 

Truth  is  eternal.  This  is  the  ultimate  ground  of  our 
optimism.  The  right  will  prevail,  because  God  lives  and 
rules.  In  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  Jesus  faced  three 
great  discouragements,  the  doubting  of  John,  adverse  public 
opinion,  and  the  hardness  of  the  cities ;  but  in  spite  of  it 
all  he  was  still  optimistic,  and  said  :  "I  thank  thee,  O  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  didst  hide  these  things 
from  the  wise  and  understanding,  and  didst  reveal  them 
unto  babes."  So  let  us  look  up  and  hope,  believe  and  pray, 
until  the  day  dawns  and  the  light  of  eternal  glory  floods 
our  souls. 


118  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

A  Plea  for  a  Larger  Place  for  the  Church 
in  Our  Hearts 

Text,  Jeremiah  51 :50 :  "Remember  Jehovah  from  afar, 
and  let  Jerusalem  come  into  your  mind." 

Subject :  "A  Plea  for  a  Larger  Place  for  the  Church  in 
Our  Hearts." 

"Jeremiah  stood  at  the  threshold  of  the  Babylonian  cap- 
tivity, and  sounded  in  unmistakable  terms  the  warning  to 
his  fellowmen.  He  saw  that  unless  a  thorough  repentance 
came  over  the  Israelites,  and  that  very  soon,  the  nation  must 
fall,  and  Jersualem  must  be  laid  waste  by  the  enemy.  Israel 
must  repent  or  suffer,  and  since  there  was  scarcely  any  hope 
of  repentance,  suffering  was  practically  inevitable.  The  aged 
prophet  studies  the  situation,  sees  with  prophetic  vision  the 
holy  city  made  desolate,  and  his  brethren  pining  under  the 
torturing  yoke  of  heathen  rule.  He  looks  still  further  and 
sees  that  spoilers  shall  come  from  the  north,  and  that  Baby- 
lon herself  shall  fall.  It  is  then  that  he  makes  this  strong 
and  pathetic  appeal  to  his  brethren :  "Ye  that  have  escaped 
the  sword,  go  ye,  stand  not  still ;  remember  Jehovah  from 
afar,  and  let  Jerusalem  come  into  your  mind."  Though 
far  away,  remember  your  own  native  land,  which  you  "have 
loved  and  lost  awhile."  In  the  midst  of  false  and  strange 
gods,  remember  the  God  of  Israel,  in  the  midst  of  heathen 
cities  in  which  men  serve  images  made  by  their  own  hands, 
remember  Jerusalem,  the  holy  city,  where  you  have  so  often 
met  and  worshipped  the  God  of  Jacob. 

Jerusalem  was  to  the  faithful  Jew  what  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  to  the  Christian.  Therefore,  Jeremiah's  appeal  to 
his  brethren  can  be  echoed  as  an  appeal  to  every  true  fol- 
lower of  Christ  to  let  the  church  come  into  his  mind  and 
heart,  and  occupy  therein  her  merited  place.  We  purpose 
to  make  this  plea  by  setting  forth,  first,  the  real  value  of 
the  church;  and,  secondly,  by  showing  the  just  claims  she 
has  upon  men. 

By  "the  church"  we  mean,  in  this  discourse,  the  great 


Sermons  1 1 9 

brotherhood  of  believers  in  Christ.  The  value  of  this  brother- 
hood is  shown  in  part  by  the  incalculable  cost  of  our  re- 
demption. The  church  is  not  the  product  of  human 
scheming  and  sacrifice ;  it  does  not  represent  a  certain  ex- 
penditure of  money,  nor  does  it  represent  only  a  certain 
number  of  years  of  human  toil  and  suffering,  the  value  of 
which  might  be  computed,  if  only  we  had  the  data  upon 
which  to  base  the  calculation.  It  is  of  divine  origin,  and 
the  product  of  divine  planning  and  divine  execution.  The 
execution  of  these  plans  involved  the  sufferings  of  a  life 
of  hardships,  and  the  tortures  of  a  humiliating  and  agoniz- 
ing death.  Man's  best  and  greatest  Friend  was  scorned, 
spat  upon,  crowned  and  robed  in  mockery,  nailed  by  ruth- 
less hands  to  the  cruel  tree,  in  order  that  we  might  be  saved 
from  our  sins.  No  matter  what  may  be  your  theory  of 
the  atonement,  the  facts  of  the  awful  tragedy  remain  as  a 
testimony  to  the  incalculable  cost  of  the  church  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  Son  of  God  did  not  die  for  naught.  His  death 
has  a  profound  meaning,  and  until  we  can  fathom  the  depth 
of  these  agonies  and  comprehend  the  boundless  love  of  God, 
we  shall  stand  in  amazement  before  the  ransom  price  of  the 
church. 

The  value  of  the  church  is  further  shown  by  the  fact 
that  for  nearly  twenty  centuries  she  has  had  the  faithful  ser- 
vice of  the  truest  and  best  of  men.  Just  as  on  the  gory  bat- 
tle-field thousands  of  brave  men  have  shown  their  loyalty 
and  love  for  home  and  country,  so  at  the  burning  stake,  in 
positions  of  honor  and  of  abasement,  in  riches  and  in  pov- 
erty, in  health  and  in  sickness,  in  life  and  in  death,  men  have 
shown  undying  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  Many  brave 
hearts  have  been  pierced  that  a  land  of  the  noble  and  the 
free  might  become  the  heritage  of  sons  and  daughters.  For 
this  reason,  if  for  no  other,  we  would  give  our  native  land 
a  large  place  in  our  hearts.  The  Kingdom  of  God  has  been 
purchased  for  us  not  only  by  the  offering  of  the  Spotless 
Lamb  of  God,  as  a  sacrifice  for  our  sins,  but  unnumbered 
loyal  and  noble  lives  have  been  sacrificed  that  truth  might 


120  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

live,  and  the  church  of  God  become  the  blessed  heritage 
of  many  generations. 

That  the  church  is  of  inestimable  value  is  demonstrated 
also  by  the  fact  that  we  who  are  followers  of  Christ  and 
have  received  the  "inheritance  among  all  them  that  are 
sanctified,"  have  been  saved  by  her  sacred  influence  and 
faithful  labors.  We  owe  our  salvation  to  the  church.  The 
sacrificing  love  of  Christian  people,  as  they  have  been  led 
and  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  our  Master,  has  led  us  to 
the  divine  Redeemer.  Were  it  not  for  the  church,  to  whose 
keeping  have  been  committed  the  oracles  of  God,  we  should 
now  be  "without  hope  and  without  God  in  the  world." 
She  told  us  of  our  disease  and  pointed  us  to  the  remedy. 
She  found  us  in  darkness  and  led  us  into  the  light. 
She  found  us  sorely  oppressed  by  sin,  and  pointed  us  to 
the  "Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 

When  we  have  grown  into  manhood  we  can  appreciate 
the  true  value  of  father  and  mother;  we  can  then  see  how 
tender  the  care  and  how  many  the  labors  they  bestowed 
upon  us  in  order  to  bring  us  up  in  the  right  way.  We 
honor  and  value  them  for  what  they  have  done  for  us. 
So  the  church  has  brought  us  life,  joy,  peace — all  the  bless- 
ings that  come  through  redeeming  grace.  God  bless  the 
church,  which  he  has  appointed  to  be  the  light  of  the 
world  and  the  salt  of  the  earth. 

The  value  of  the  church  becomes  even  more  apparent 
when  we  remember  that  through  her  the  world  is  to  be 
saved.  What  a  tremendous  mission !  If  she  is  to  be  valued 
by  this  world-wide  and  vastly  important  mission,  surely 
nothing  else  can  be  of  half  so  much  worth  to  the  world. 
Thousands  and  millions  of  souls  are  lost,  and  must  be 
brought  to  God  through  the  instrumentality  of  Christian 
people.  Philosophy,  science,  culture,  riches,  are  all  power- 
less in  the  presence  of  sin.  The  task  of  the  church  can  be 
accomplished  only  by  the  church,  and  this  work  surpasses 
all  else  in  importance.  Consequently  she  merits  a  large 
place  in  every  heart,  and  we  should  prize  her  above  all 
else  we  possess.  The  millions  of  the  lost,  the  vastness  of 


Sermons  1 2 1 


the  work,  the  awfulness  of  living  and  dying  in  sin,  and  the 
eternal  verities  of  salvation  through  Christ,  demand  that 
we  love  the  church  and  give  her  the  best  and  chief  place 
in  our  hearts.  Therefore,  my  brethren,  we  plead  with  you, 
that  in  your  homes  and  the  rush  of  your  business  affairs, 
you  remember  the  Lord  our  God,  and  let  the  church  come 
into  your  mind. 

Let  us  notice,  in  the  next  place,  that  the  church  has 
certain  just  claims  upon  the  people.  It  is  evident  that 
she  has  just  claims  upon  the  unsaved.  No  one  in  a  Chris 
tian  country  can  deny  that  he  is  indebted  to  Christianity  for 
many  privileges  and  blessings  enjoyed  daily  by  all  classes. 
No  church  is  worthy  of  Christ  that  does  not  benefit  the 
entire  community  in  which  it  happens  to  be  located.  To 
a  large  extent  it  elevates  the  morals,  preserves  the  peace, 
enhances  the  price  of  property,  and  makes  life  better  in 
every  way.  Any  one  will  surely  concede  that  a  good  Chris- 
tian church  is  beneficial  to  the  whole  community,  and 
therefore  deserves  the  respect,  the  love  and  the  support 
of  every  patriotic  citizen  of  the  community,,  whether  he  be 
identified  with  the  brotherhood  or  not.  This  is  a  fact 
that  needs  to  be  emphasized  and  kept  constantly  before 
our  minds,  in  order  that  all  classes  of  men  may  come  to 
give  the  church  a  larger  place  in  their  hearts.  Every  man 
should  be  willing  to  love  his  country,  discharge  the  duties 
of  citizenship,  and  comply  with  the  just  demands  made 
upon  him  by  his  state  and  nation,  because  of  the  manifold 
benefits  derived  from  citizenship  therein.  So  when  men 
are  led  to  see  the  blessings  derived  from  the  benignant  in- 
fluences of  Christianity,  they  will  doubtless  be  willing  to 
respond  to  the  obligations  resting  upon  them  with  reference 
to  the  Christian  church. 

The  church,  however,  has  especial  claims  upon  those 
that  have  been  saved.  She  justly  demands  of  every  Chris- 
tian that  he  shall  keep  clean  her  garments.  No  one  has  a 
right  to  wrap  himself  in  the  cloak  of  church  membership 
and  then  allow  this  cloak  to  trail  in  the  dust  and  dirt  of  the 
earth.  When  we  voluntarily  identify  ourselves  with  Chris- 


122  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

tian  people,  we  owe  it  to  God  and  to  men  to  keep  our  church 
out  of  the  low  places  that  curse  the  land  and  wreck  human 
life.  We  have  no  right  to  drag  the  church  into  saloons, 
into  gambling  dens,  or  into  any  place  of  questionable  pro- 
priety. No  loyal  citizen  should  ever  think  of  disgracing 
his  country's  flag,  which  is  the  symbol  of  his  nation's  glory 
and  power.  In  like  manner,  hold  high  the  Cross  of  Jesus, 
love  the  church,  and  guard  well  her  name,  her  purity,  her 
interests.  Ungrateful  is  he  who  stoops  to  dishonor  her 
name  and  impede  her  progress.  Church  membership  is 
becoming  a  matter  of  too  little  significance,  whereas  it 
should  have  a  profound  meaning  to  everyone  that  possesses 
it.  We  need  to  learn  that  it  is  no  trivial  thing  for  one  to 
be  called  a  Christian.  Membership  in  the  Masonic  order  is 
appreciated,  and  certain  it  is  that  no  true  Mason  would 
bring  his  lodge  into  disrepute  by  an  act  of  disloyalty. 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  Grand  Master  of  our  Christian  federa- 
tion, and  he  makes  the  reasonable  demand  upon  his  fol- 
lowers that  they  be  pure  in  heart,  loyal  and  true  in  service. 
That  was  a  severe  reproof  of  those  that  claimed  to  have 
the  light — the  reproof  that  says,  "For  the  sons  of  this  world 
are  for  their  own  generation  wiser  than  the  sons  of  the 
light."  We  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon,  and  having 
once  made  God  our  choice,  let  us  keep  pure  and  clean  our 
life,  and  pray  for  Zion,  "Peace  be  within  thy  walls,  and 
prosperity  within  thy  palaces." 

But  the  church  rightfully  asks  of  her  members  not  only 
a  pure  life,  but  a  life  of  service.  No  one  thinks  of  enter- 
ing a  secular  fraternity  without  giving  himself  in  service 
to  that  fraternity.  He  will  stand  in  readiness  to  respond 
to  any  reasonable  demand  the  order  may  make  upon  him. 
So  when  we  come  into  the  fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  we 
should  come  with  hearts  willing  to  do  the  Master's  bidding. 
The  work  of  the  church,  as  we  have  pointed  out,  is  to  save 
the  human  race  from  sin  and  lift  it  up  into  righteousness, 
and  in  order  to  accomplish  this  enormous  task  we  must  be 
unanimous  in  our  readiness  and  united  in  our  activity.  The 
church  justly  claims  your  best  service,  and  we  beseech  you 


Sermons  1 23 


in  Christ's  name  to  do  what  you  can,  whether  it  be  much  or 
little. 

"So  tired;  yet  I  would  work 
For  thee.    Lord,  hast  thou  work 

Even  for  me? 

Small  things  which  others  hurrying  on, 
In  thy  blessed  service,  swift  and  strong, 

Might  never  see." 

The  church  claims  our  financial  support.  Many  can 
give  but  little,  but  they  should  do  what  they  can.  The 
widow  gave  her  two  mites  and  won  the  commendation  of 
her  Lord.  We  should  give  because  it  is  our  duty  to  support 
the  noblest  work  that  ever  engaged  the  attention  and  efforts 
of  man.  Upon  you  the  Master  of  the  harvest  has  laid  the 
responsibility. 

I  want  just  here  to  make  an  appeal  for  the  church  to  be 
lifted  from  the  low  level  of  a  tramping  beggar,  and  given 
her  rightful  and  dignified  place  of  honor  and  power  in  the 
world.  Jesus  Christ,  the  divine  head  of  the  church,  is  no 
beggar,  and  yet  we  must  confess  with  a  blush  of  shame 
that  the  actions  of  some  churches  and  church  people  would 
lead  a  stranger  to  feel  that  Christianity  is  a  pauperized  in- 
stitution. A  Chinaman  in  San  Francisco  once  asked,  "Who 
is  this  Jesus  that's  all  the  time  broke?"  Well  might  a  blush 
of  shame  crimson  the  cheeks  of  those  who  attempted,  in 
their  abject  beggary,  to  present  the  cause  of  Christ  to  this 
foreigner.  All  things  are  Christ's.  Before  him  the  angels 
of  heaven  fall  in  praise  and  adoration,  as  they  behold  him 
exalted  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father's  glory.  He  has 
seen  fit  to  commit  to  his  disciples  the  exalted  task  of  evan- 
gelizing the  world.  It  cannot  be  his  will  that  we  should 
pose  as  paupers  and  beg  for  pennies  with  which  to  keep 
alive  his  work  upon  the  earth.  As  saved  men  and  women, 
we  are  to  face  our  duty  bravely  and  lovingly,  and  give  of 
our  means  to  this  most  royal  work.  But  if  any  of  you 
should  perchance  feel  that  your  church  is  a  pauper  eking 
out  a  bare  living  by  begging  bread,  you  need  to  throw  off 


124  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

your  morbid  lethargy,  remember  the  power  of  God,  and 
cry  aloud,  "Awake,  O  Zion,  put  on  thy  strength."  The 
church  of  God  is  not  a  thing  to  be  despised  by  any  class 
of  people,  for  she  wields  the  greatest  power  on  earth,  and 
stands  as  a  thing  of  strength,  of  beauty,  and  of  glory, 
deserving  the  highest  admiration  of  all.  When  we  behold 
her,  marching  from  victory  to  victory,  we  can  only  magnify 
her  matchless  prowess,  and  glory  in  her  conquering  Lord. 
God  pity  that  depraved  soul  who,  in  his  remotest  thought, 
would  drag  Zion  and  her  ministry  from  her  exalted  and 
dignified  place  down  to  the  despised  level  of  mere  beggary. 

Furthermore,  you  owe  the  church  your  earnest  prayers. 
Every  Christian  should  pray  for  the  prosperity  and  final 
victory  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  You  should  pray  for 
your  pastor  before  he  comes  to  you  with  his  message.  When 
you  give  him  to  understand  that  you  pray  for  him,  he  will 
preach  with  greater  freedom  and  helpfulness.  Pray  for  him, 
and  you  will  find  less  in  the  sermon  to  criticise  and  more 
to  praise.  Pray  also  that  the  spiritually  blind  may  receive 
their  sight,  and  you  will  see  more  hearts  bowing  before  the 
sovereign  rule  of  our  blessed  Lord. 

Finally,  the  church  has  a  just  claim  upon  your  heart's 
best  affection.  Ungrateful  is  the  man  who  has  no  love 
for  the  church  that  led  him  into  the  Saviour's  light.  The 
devout  Jew  loved  Jerusalem,  his  spiritual  home,  the  place 
where  he  held  sweetest  communion  with  God,  and  where 
he  found  sweetest  peace  for  his  soul.  The  church  is  our 
spiritual  home.  She  has  often  called  us  to  prayer  and  to 
communion  with  God.  The  Jew  had  a  custom  of  engraving 
upon  the  palm  of  his  hand  the  image  of  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem.  Let  us  engrave  upon  our  hearts  the  image  of 
the  church  of  Christ,  and  love  her  with  a  pure  and  un- 
selfish love. 


Sermons  1 25 


A  Vision  of  God  Through  Purity  of  Heart 

Text :  From  Matthew,  S  :8 :  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 

Let  us  think  first  of  how  we  get  this  vision  of  God 
and  then  consider  the  blessedness  of  those  who  get  such 
a  vision. 

I.     How  we  get  a  true  vision  of  God. 

To  find  God,  to  possess  Him  and  to  do  His  will,  has 
been  for  man  the  task  of  all  the  ages.  Starting  with  the 
world  and  all  its  manifold  phenomena,  Greek  philosophy 
set  as  its  task  to  find  the  infinite — the  First  Cause.  For 
Hebrew  wisdom,  God  was  the  starting  point,  and  the  prob- 
lem for  the  believer  was  how  to  put  himself  in  line  with 
God.  Whether  in  philosophy  or  in  religion,  God  has  been 
the  chief  aim  or  supreme  desire  in  all  the  centuries.  The 
Psalmist  did  not  express  merely  the  longing  of  his  soul, 
or  that  of  Israel,  but  also  the  deep  yearning  of  the  heart  of 
humanity,  when  he  said :  "As  the  hart  panteth  after  the 
water  brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O  God."  (Ps. 
42:1-2.)  It  was  to  reveal  God  and  satisfy  this  longing 
for  the  human  soul  that  Jesus  lived  and  died.  He  taught 
us  that  to  have  a  true  knowledge  or  vision  of  God  is  to 
have  eternal  life.  "And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  should 
know  thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  him  whom  thou  wouldst 
send,  even  Jesus  Christ."  (John  17:3.)  But  when  Jesus 
said,  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God," 
He  lifted  this  problem  out  of  the  sphere  of  science  and 
philosophy,  as  those  terms  are  generally  accepted,  and  placed 
it  solely  within  the  moral  and  spiritual  sphere.  While  it 
is  true  that  God  is  in  all  true  science,  and  that  all  philos- 
ophic truth  is  God's  truth,  yet  He  is  to  be  found  and  known 
in  the  sphere  of  moral  activity,  and  practical  obedience  to 
His  will.  Accordingly,  if  we  are  to  gain  a  vision  of  God, 
it  is  to  be  done,  not  by  turning  the  telescope  upon  the 
heavens,  and  standing  amazed  at  the  vastness  of  the  uni- 
verse, but  by  looking  through  the  eyes  of  a  surrendered 


126  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

will  and  purified  heart.  The  sciences,  of  which  theology, 
taken  in  its  broadest  sense,  is  queen,  have  their  proper  place 
in  the  evolution  of  human  thought  and  the  onward  and 
upward*  march  of  the  human  race.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not 
the  trained  and  keen  intellects,  but  the  pure  in  heart,  that 
feel  God's  tenderness  and  know  that  He  is.  His  Spirit 
bears  witness,  teaches,  and  communes  with  the  pure  in 
heart. 

It  is  appalling  how  darkened  becomes  our  vision  of 
God  and  of  divine  things  when  sin  is  cherished  and  fos- 
tered in  the  heart.  Impurity  so  veils  the  soul  as  to  hide 
God  from  our  view.  It  breaks  the  flow  of  our  fellowship 
and  intercepts  our  vision  of  Him  who  is  too  high  and  holy 
to  reveal  Himself  to  the  profane  and  irreverent.  Many  of 
you  have  stood  in  some  eastern  valley  and  watched  the  set- 
ting sun.  As  the  sun  went  down  in  the  western  sky,  some 
huge  mountain  arose  before  your  gaze,  intercepting  more 
and  more  the  light  of  day,  until  soon  the  whole  valley  was 
flooded  with  night  and  you  stood  submerged  in  thick  dark- 
ness. Just  so  some  of  you  today  are  wondering  why  there 
is  no  light  for  your  soul,  no  vision  of  God.  The  mountain 
of  sin  has  arisen  between  you  and  the  light  of  the  world, 
and  whatever  light  you  may  have  had  in  former  days  has 
fled  before  the  gross  darkness  of  sin.  But  when  sin  is  cast 
out  and  purity  enthroned  in  the  heart,  it  is  like  the  dis- 
pelling of  night  before  the  brightness  of  the  morning  sun. 
As  the  hill  top  and  valley  are  kissed  and  beautified  by  the 
renewed  sunlight,  so  our  souls  are  touched  and  lighted  by 
God's  presence,  and  we  have  a  vision  which  fills  the  heart 
with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  If  then  you  would 
see  God,  if  you  would  possess  Him  and  do  His  will,  be 
right  with  men,  be  clean  and  pure  in  life,  and  "keep  thy 
heart  with  all  diligence,  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life." 

There  is  a  prevalent  idea  today  that  the  quality  of 
one's  religion  depends  largely  upon  the  accuracy  with  which 
one  adheres  to  certain  intellectual  and  dogmatic  proposi- 
tions regarding  the  Christian  faith.  In  this  age  of  real 
enlightenment,  when  we  Protestants  boast  of  our  deliver- 


Sermons  127 

ance  from  medieval  theological  darkness  and  night;  when 
we  no  longer  have,  nor  desire  to  have,  a  divine  Thomas 
Aquinas  to  think  for  us  and  dictate  what  form  our  faith 
shall  take,  it  ought  to  be  unnecessary  to  assert  that  the 
Christian  faith  does  not  consist  of  intellectual  assent  to  a 
formulated  and  prescribed  dogmatic  creed.  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  faith  itself  and  the  form  in  which  faith 
clothes  itself.  In  our  servility  to  form,  we  separate  our- 
selves from  God  to  worship  an  image  which  man  has  made ; 
if  faith  is  the  gift  of  God,  the  form  of  faith  is  the  work  of 
man.  The  soundness  of  my  faith,  the  purity  of  my  re- 
ligion, and  the  clearness  of  my  visions  of  God,  do  not  de- 
pend upon  my  accepting  in  toto  the  creedal  decisions  of 
ecumenical  councils.  The  very  genius  of  the  Christian 
religion  opposes  intellectual  slavery ;  it  antagonizes  the  per- 
functory imitation  of  the  mere  copyist,  and  unqualifiedly 
condemns  the  religious  and  theological  parasite.  The  faith 
that  finds  God  and  worships  Him  is  not  an  intellectual 
assent  to  dogma,  nor  any  other  mere  intellectual  process. 
It  is  grounded  in  and  springs  out  of  the  moral  life.  The 
very  core  and  essence  of  the  Christian  religion  is  fellow- 
ship with  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  mediator 
of  this  new  and  blessed  relationship.  As  Christians,  we 
come  into  this  fellowship  by  a  moral  surrender  to  the  im- 
pelling power  of  the  inner  life  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  continue 
therein  through  a  divine  companionship  which  demands 
devotion  of  heart  and  purity  of  life.  It  is  this  fact  that 
makes  our  text  true.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  pure 
in  heart  see  God.  Jesus  was  conscious  of  an  entirely 
unique  and  unutterable  fellowship  with  God  which  has 
exalted  His  name  above  every  other.  The  measure  of  the 
exaltation  of  Jesus'  life  above  every  other  is  the  fullness 
of  the  inflowing  into  Him  of  the  divine  life  and  character. 
But,  mark  you,  this  inflowing  of  the  divine  life  and  character 
involves  the  outflow  from  life  of  all  that  is  incompatible 
with  goodness,  love,  purity,  and  divine  righteousness.  We, 
therefore,  reassert  that  if  you  would  find  God,  if  you  would 
possess  Him  and  do  His  will,  be  right  with  men,  be  clean 


128  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 

and  pure  in  your  life,  and  then  shall  you  surely  realize  in 
your  experience  a  blessed  vision  of  God  through  purity 
of  heart. 

"Blest  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  their  God ; 
The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  theirs ;  their  soul  is  Christ's  abode. 
He  to  the  lowly  soul  doth  still  Himself  impart, 
And  for  His  dwelling  and  His  throne,  chooseth  the  pure  in 

heart. 

Lord !  we  Thy  presence  seek ;  may  ours  this  blessing  be : 
Give  us  the  pure  and  lowly  heart — a  temple  meet  for  Thee." 

II.  With  a  vision  of  God  comes  a  blessedness  that  only 
the  pure  in  heart  can  ever  know.  The  verdict  of  the  world's 
sanest  minds  and  purest  hearts  has  been  that  man's  highest 
good  is  to  be  found  in  possessing  God  and  doing  His  will. 
Our  highest,  most  sacred  and  most  blessed  relations  in  life 
are  personal  relations ;  and  our  friends  satisfy  us  and  enrich 
our  lives  according  to  the  riches  of  the  life  they  reveal  to 
us.  In  the  personality  of  God  dwells  all  fullness,  and  he 
who  gets  the  vision  of  the  boundless  riches  of  the  life  of 
God  has  unfathomable  resources  of  joy.  And  just  this  is 
the  blessedness  of  the  pure  in  heart.  Our  joy  is  never  so 
sweet,  so  profound,  so  boundless,  as  when  it  springs  out 
of  an  unbroken  and  undisturbed  communion  with  God. 
God  in  the  soul  is  our  highest  guarantee  of  transporting 
delight  and  rapturous  joy. 

In  Paul's  letter  to  the  Philippians  we  have  what  may 
seem  to  the  uninitiated  a  strange  anomaly.  The  great 
apostle,  in  Roman  chains,  not  knowing  what  hour  his  head 
may  fall,  rises  to  magnificent  heights  and,  out  of  chains 
and  maltreatment  endured  for  Christ's  sake,  he  cries :  "Re- 
joice in  the  Lord  always ;  again  I  will  say,  rejoice.  .  . 
In  nothing  be  anxious,  but  in  everything  by  prayer  and 
thanksgiving  let  your  requests  be  made  unto  God.  And 
the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding  shall 
guard  your  hearts  and  your  thoughts  in  Christ  Jesus." 
Our  joy  does  not  depend  on  what  is  without  the  heart,  but 


Sermons  1 29 

what  is  within;  not  on  environment,  but  on  the  internal 
condition ;  not  on  material  and  worldly  gains,  but  on  moral 
and  spiritual  possessions.  One  may  be  clothed  in  purple 
and  housed  in  a  palatial  mansion,  with  all  the  comforts 
and  splendors  of  kings,  and  still  be  forlorn,  miserable, 
heart-sick  and  soul-burdened;  for  that  soul  upon  which 
heaven  sheds  no  light  and  to  which  God  is  a  stranger  must 
be  something  like  a  seething  caldron  of  bewilderment,  or 
a  deep,  dark  and  dismal  dungeon,  or  a  miniature  world 
wandering  aimlessly  through  space,  knowing  neither  its 
origin  nor  destiny.  But  it  is  not  so  with  those  who  have 
found  God  and  have  put  themselves  in  harmony  with  His 
will.  They  have  chosen  the  better  part,  they  have  found 
the  pearl  of  great  price,  they  have  come  into  possession 
of  the  soul's  greatest  and  priceless  heritage,  and  have 
thereby  become  masters  of  themselves  and  independent  of 
their  environment.  That  the  gospel  of  Jesus  can  liberate 
from  world-enslavement  and  give  songs  even  in  the  night, 
has  been  exemplified  in  history  a  thousand  times  over.  It 
calms  and  gives  poise  to  the  soul  even  when  our  little  bark 
is  tempest-tossed  and  rock-beaten.  It  does  not  remove  the 
storm,  but  it  anchors  the  ship.  It  does  not  take  away 
trouble  nor  remove  cares,  but  it  lifts  the  soul  above  them 
and  makes  us  see  beyond  all  passing  clouds  of  evil  the 
eternal  sunshine. 

You  have  seen  the  eagle  spread  out  his  wings  and  soar 
round  and  round  until  he  rises  above  the  little  hill ;  then 
soaring  round  and  round  until  he  has  reached  the  highest 
mountain  peak,  and  still  he  rises  higher  and  higher  until 
he  passes  above  and  beyond  the  storm-cloud  into  the  clear 
blue  sky.  Just  so  we  can  mount  upon  the  wings  of  faith 
and  trust  and  hope,  and  rise  higher  and  higher  until  we 
soar  above  the  storms  of  earthly  care  and  perplexing  anx- 
iety and  rest  in  the  clear  sky  of  God's  love  and  grace. 
Then  all  things  become  ours  and  for  our  good.  Even  death 
itself  becomes  to  us  only  a  passport  into  the  bosom  of  the 
Eternal  God  for  whom  we  were  made  and  in  whom  we 
shall  rest  and  rejoice  forever  more.  But  without  God  we 


130  Rev.  J.  W.  T.  McNiel 


grow  tired  and  weary  of  life's  rugged  journey.  We  long 
to  lie  down  like  a  weary  child  and  "weep  this  life  away." 
It  is  then  the  gentle  voice  of  the  Master,  "Come  unto  me 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest,"  comes  to  us  like  a  new  song,  imparting  that  myster- 
ious peace  which  comes  only  by  resting  in  God.  Clouds 
are  driven  from  the  sky.  The  day-dawn  drives  away  our 
night,  and  the  soul  becomes  "bright  with  the  beauty  and 
celestial  glory  of  an  immortal  grace." 

Oh,  sweet,  sustaining  trust  in  God,  that  clears  life's 
clouded  sky  and  lets  in  the  soft,  radiant  light  of  the  Father's 
face ;  that  reconciles  contentment  with  aspiration,  and  blends 
activity  with  repose.  May  this  our  blessing  be ! 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


BE  STRONG. 

Be  strong! 

We  are  not  here  to  play,  to  dream,  to  drift. 
We  have  hard  work  to  do,  and  loads  to  lift. 
Shun  not  the  struggle ;  face  it.  'Tis  God's  gift. 

Be  strong! 

Say  not  the  days  are  evil, — who's  to  blame? 
And   fold   the   hands   and   acquiesce — O   shame ! 
Stand  up,  speak  out,  and  bravely,  in  God's  name. 

Be  strong! 

It  matters  not  how  deep  intrenched  the  wrong; 
How  hard  the  battle  goes,  the  day,  how  long. 
Faint  not ;  fight  on !     Tomorrow  comes  the  song. 

Maltbie  D.  Babcock. 


14  DAY  USE 

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